Once a Werewolf
by Maglor's finch
Summary: Remus Lupin has survived the Battle of Hogwarts, and a grieving Andromeda Tonks takes care of him and little Teddy. A postDH story, ends as RemusxAndromeda. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This world and its characters belong to J.K. Rowling**

**Once a werewolf**

_Prologue_

When Remus Lupin, one dead in a row of far too many, stirred from what had to be mere unconsciousness after all, some people resented him.

George Weasley did, for instance, because Remus wasn't his twin brother but merely a friend of the family. Andromeda Tonks did, because Remus was neither her daughter nor her husband, but merely her daughter's husband - who was possibly going to claim the baby she had barely begun to think of as hers. Even Minerva McGonagall resented him a little, as she had only just informed the Creeveys of their elder son's death and knew that bereaved parents suffer much more deeply than bereaved infants, and Remus more than twice Colin's age.

However, by the time they took him to the Hospital Wing, their astonishment at his survival prevailed over their resentment. He had not been breathing when his and Tonks's bodies were found on the battlefield, yet he could not have been truly dead, for the dead do not return. Maybe it was a werewolf thing. Someone suggested they throw an Avada Kedavra at the captured Fenrir Greyback to see if he would survive it. This idea was rejected - not in the last place because no one could say with any certainty it was an Avada Kedavra that had felled Remus Lupin, or what curse it could have been instead, but also because Harry Potter would not agree.

As it turned out, Remus did not seem to remember anything that had happened to him since Greyback had turned him into a werewolf. He had been five years old at the time, and his recollections were limited to images of loving parental smiles, to fragments of softly sung lullabies, to brief visions of shoving unwanted food from the table, to flashes of grubby little hands digging in black soil, snowballs in a white yard, and red candles hovering above the branches of a huge Christmas tree.

But I'm much older than that, am I not?' he said tiredly after exhausting this reservoir of childish memories. They all agreed solemnly, exchanging glances all the while. Someone had to tell him who he was, what he was and what he had lost. No one was looking forward to it. Staring at their faces he only asked his name, as if he feared to find out more. They did tell him, briefly, about the war, and that it was won, and he sighed, perhaps in relief.

It was Andromeda who eventually agreed to take him to the Spell Damage Ward at St. Mungo's for examination. Maybe they'd be able to find out if it was an Obliviate that had caused the memory loss, or something else. Maybe they'd even be able to treat him, though she wasn't optimistic about that. Her daughter was beyond help but would have wanted her to aid Remus.

On discovering he would be sharing a room with Frank and Alice Longbottom, both considered to be incurable, she had second thoughts. It was Remus who had told her about their son Neville, raised by his daunting gran. It was her own sister who had tortured Frank and Alice into insanity. Her son in law was not insane, merely suffering from amnesia. He was agreeable, and eager to please. Andromeda decided to take him home, even when he claimed he didn't want to be a burden; he and Dora had lived with her before, after Ted was killed. The Healers at St. Mungo's were far from sorry to see him leave again, though they would have taken him in if she had insisted.

She had not told Remus about Nymphadora yet, who ought to have been alive in his stead. Nor had she mentioned the existence of a baby son. Stepping out of the fireplace and wondering where to begin, she realised he probably didn't even know he was a werewolf - or what it meant to be one. Neither did she, for that matter. At this, she almost returned to the hospital. Only her pride prevented her from doing so: she could handle this.

When she told Remus he had a son he looked both surprised and a little apprehensive. But no sooner did she lay Teddy in his arms than his eyes lit up, and for one hopeful moment Andromeda thought he recognised the child.

Then he asked her if she was the mother, and she broke down and sobbed her heart out.

&&&

He'd had a wife, and lost her, and he couldn't remember anything about her. Her name had been Nymphadora, but she'd preferred Tonks, though her mother spoke of her as Dora. She had been thirteen years his junior. Photographs told him she'd been lovely and cheerful, and a metamorph to boot; her mother told him she'd been fiercely loyal, brave and stubborn. She'd given birth to a son who was a metamorph as well, and then she'd left him with her mother to join her husband in the fight for a better world - which had left her mother very embittered, he noticed, though she did not say it in so many words.

Had Dora Tonks been heroic, mad, or just madly in love with him? The mirror showed him a thin, hollow-eyed man who looked ten years older than they'd told him he was, older than Andromeda said she was. How could a young woman be madly in love with such a man? It was beyond baffling.

He was a wizard, but the wand he had been holding when they found him lying on the battlefield felt like an alien thing to him. It lay heavy in his hand, and he didn't know what to do with it. When he asked Andromeda about it she supposed he had also forgotten how to do magic, and would have to relearn it. She offered to help him, confident that his skills would return in due time. Later perhaps,' he said. It didn't seem very urgent, as everything in the household requiring any form of wand-waving was done by Andromeda.

He did not ask many more questions, nor did she volunteer a great deal of information. She did tell him, however, that Dora had been killed by her own aunt, who had fought for the enemy, one Riddle who called himself Voldemort. The gap between a world in which such things happened and the hale world of his childhood memories was unfathomable. That the aunt had been killed as well before the end brought little relief. And nothing could ease his guilt for being unable to mourn his wife the way she deserved, because he did not remember loving her. Andromeda, who did remember, was suffering a grief he could not truly share, try as he might. Knowing that his presence made it even worse and seeing her cast furtive glances at the calendar as if she hoped his stay would soon come to an end, Remus considered leaving for a while.

Then Dora's funeral came. People he didn't know lined up to offer their condolences to Andromeda and, somewhat more reluctantly, to him. They probably didn't know about his memory loss, or they would have realised Dora's mother had to be in much deeper mourning than her husband was, and saved their most heartfelt sentiments for her.

That same evening, he asked her tentatively if she would feel better if he removed his presence from her house. It had been a difficult decision, for how could he possibly leave his son behind, this sweet little boy with the changing hair colours who had stolen his heart in a heartbeat? Yet how could he possibly be cruel enough to take him away? When Andromeda told him haughtily that fleeing (again, she added, and Remus resolved to ask her one day how much of a coward he was) was out of the question, he realised he had to accept being the price she was prepared to pay for Teddy. After all, he had a price of his own to pay for being where he was: strange dreams of being dead and happy. They visited him every night and left him slightly disconcerted once he woke up, as he could not have been dead if he was alive now. The dreams would cease after a while, he supposed, uncertain whether this was something to look forward to or not. He would cope.

Yet there was something going on, for even though she told him to stay, the glances at the calendar did not stop. If anything, they seemed to increase. Apparently, he had misjudged her - which made him feel a bit of a fool - but in that case, she must have a different reason to do it.

Almost two weeks after his inexplicable resurrection, sitting at the breakfast table with Teddy in his lap, Remus summoned the courage to ask Andromeda about it.

TBC

**A/N**: I can promise more dialogue in the next chapters - a lot more


	2. Chapter 2

I

_Oh Merlin_, Andromeda thought. The full moon was more than a week away, and she'd hoped to postpone the inevitable a little longer. It was not as if he could take Wolfsbane; the potion was very hard to come by and she doubted she could afford it. There were rumours about additional pensions for the relatives of war casualties - how she hated the term - but knowing the Ministry it could take long before anyone would see a single knut.

'I'm counting days,' she offered, half hoping he wouldn't pursue the matter.

No such luck. 'Why is that?'

She had to be honest, if only because it was in the baby's best interest. 'To check how much time we've left until the next full moon.'

He looked puzzled, and with a sinking feeling Andromeda realised she had been right: Remus didn't remember he was a werewolf, or what it meant to be one. She embarked upon a long and halting explanation, trying not to make it sound too horrible, while at the same time emphasizing the need for drastic measures. It was not her best performance ever; Ted would probably have done a better job. But Ted was dead.

Afterwards, Remus was silent for a while. 'So this is a world where people fear and shun me,' he summarized, his face a little paler than before. 'The transformation itself is painful and I must be locked away to ensure other people's safety, even if it means I'll hurt myself.' When she nodded wordlessly, he said: 'Show me the cellar.'

When they reached the fortified door to the cellar room where he'd used to transform during Dora's pregnancy, Remus wanted to know whether it was really safe. 'If there's even the slightest change I'll hurt Teddy, I will leave the house.' He looked at her. 'I don't want to harm you either.'

'You transformed in here when he was four days old. Nothing happened,' Andromeda told him, squirming a little under his gaze and feeling almost like a student again. Which was ridiculous, as he had never been her teacher. She was older than he was, for Merlin's sake!

'Do you have any information on werewolves?' Remus asked while they left the cellar.

'I had a book,' she confessed. 'Wandering with Werewolves, by Gilderoy Lockhart. But I threw it out when you told me it was mostly nonsense.'

He halted abruptly at the top of the staircase. 'It's strange to realise that you know me better than I know myself, though we weren't really acquainted for more than a year.' His mouth quirked in a sad little half-smile. 'I suppose I must have had some notion of what I was talking about when I said that. Anything else I could do to gather information?'

'Maybe you could consult Hermione Granger, who seems to know almost everything,' Andromeda offered. 'She's probably at the Weasleys' place.' With sudden resolve she crossed the hall and the living room to the fireplace. It sprang to life with green flames before she could reach towards the floo powder, and a head appeared.

It turned out to belong to Harry Potter, unruly hair, scar, green eyes and all, looking nothing like the saviour of the Wizarding World. Yet he was. A pity he hadn't saved it a few hours earlier, before Dora decided to jump into the fray after her husband.

'Good morning to both of you,' said Harry's head, looking from her to Remus. 'I hope I'm not being inconvenient, but I thought it was past time for a visit.'

'You can say that again,' muttered Andromeda. 'Just come through, Harry.'

'I was told I named you Teddy's godfather, Harry,' said Remus quickly. 'You want to see him, I suppose. He's asleep right now, but we can take a peek in the nursery.' He smiled.

Harry emerged from the flames in his entirety and nodded. 'Yeah, I'd love to see him at last! But... I also want a word with you, Remus. About... um, when we met in the Forest, after I called you. You know. Or maybe you don't, seeing as you've lost your memory.'

Remus blinked; the smile was gone. 'The Forest,' he murmured. 'You mean the time you met your parents, Sirius and me?' He looked a little shaky, and though she didn't know what he was talking about, Andromeda felt a sudden urge to protect him. From himself, in the first place.

Harry looked surprised. 'You remember?'

'I've dreamed of it, a couple of times. And in those dreams, I know I'm dead.'

Andromeda balked. 'Harry,' she began.

Remus shook his head. 'It's all right, Andromeda,' he said. 'I don't mind talking about it.' Pointing towards Teddy's room he looked at Harry again, the smile returning. 'This way.'

Before Andromeda could follow them, a large post owl carrying a package tapped on the window, and she went to let it in.

Harry wasn't entirely sure if he'd be able to say the word 'cute' without sounding silly, and he wondered what else he could say about an infant that sounded both natural and sincere. As it turned out, little Teddy Lupin solved his problem by being awake, giving him a toothless grin and morphing his hair black as soon as Harry bent over him.

'He's fun!' Harry exclaimed spontaneously, grinning back.

'He is!' Lupin said proudly, as if he recalled his Marauder days. He lifted Teddy from his crib, and before he was aware of it Harry held out his arms. The bundle felt surprisingly light and vulnerable, and when he saw his godson stare up at him with a gaze that seemed remarkably intense in one so young, nothing was easier than loving him without reserve. Then, suddenly, Teddy morphed his eyes green. Harry blinked.

Carefully, he handed the child back to Lupin. 'I'm sorry about Tonks,' he said. It didn't seem right to suggest the mother should perhaps have stayed at home with her child, instead of throwing herself into the fray at Hogwarts. So he only added: 'A baby deserves a mother.'

Lupin nodded, not quite looking at him. 'Andromeda will be as a mother to him.' He cleared his throat and went on with what sounded like false cheer: 'So, shall I teach you how to change a nappy, now that you're a godfather? Could come in handy some day.'

'Uh,' said Harry, pulling a face.

Some time later, sitting with Lupin in the summer green garden beneath an elder tree, Harry broached the other subject. He didn't particularly want to, but as this conversation was inevitable, now was as good as ever.

'I hope I'm not putting this too crassly,' he said, 'but I'm at a loss to explain how you can be alive. I summoned the four of you - my parents, Sirius, and you, using the Resurrection Stone - I don't know if you've heard of it?'

'Maybe I had,' Lupin said with a sigh, 'but...'

'Yes, of course.' Harry felt a little stupid. 'Well, anyway, my point was that you must have been dead, or else you would never have heeded the summons, which you did. You can't be resurrected when you aren't dead.'

'Logic would dictate so, yes.'

'But the dead don't return.'

'You did,' Lupin pointed out. 'People told me what happened, and it was in the Daily Prophet as well.' He smiled wryly. 'Though Andromeda warned me not to trust the Prophet.'

Harry snorted, but he wasn't about to let Lupin distract him. 'I wasn't dead. Not really.'

'From what I understand, you met Albus Dumbledore in the... hereafter.' Lupin's voice dropped a little. 'And Dumbledore _is_ dead, isn't he?'

Somewhere in the garden, a magpie chattered repeatedly and inside the house, Harry thought he heard Mrs. Tonks close a door. 'Then you understand more than I do,' he said, trying to suppress his rising impatience. Why were they discussing his apparent demise now, instead of Lupin's? When Lupin merely eyed him curiously, he went on: 'I still don't know precisely what happened, but I know one thing. I was never dead. I suppose...' he thought for a moment. 'I suppose what I'd like to hear is whether I wasn't imagining you and the others, back in the Forest.'

'Was it real to you?' Lupin asked, rising from the bench and taking a few steps into the garden. 'To me, it's merely a dream experience. I have no waking recollections of the event itself.' He turned around, frowning slightly. 'But did you experience it as real, Harry?'

Did he? The four who had answered the call from the Resurrection stone had reminded him of the memory of Tom Riddle, rising from the Horcrux diary: neither ghosts, nor living flesh. But if they were solidified memories, they couldn't be his memories, or could they? He had never met young Tom, hadn't known what he looked like when he opened the diary. But his parents...he had seen them often enough as a baby, and he must have met younger versions of Sirius and Lupin too - had the Stone merely drawn them from his earliest memories, the ones he could not access at will? It was a possibility - or was it?

Lupin had started pacing, he saw. Suddenly Harry felt an unreasonable anger towards him: all he'd truly wanted was a confirmation that their meeting in the Forest had been real, and now the man was adding fuel to his doubts.

As if he sensed it, Lupin looked at him. A concerned look appeared on his face and he halted. 'I'm sorry, Harry,' he exclaimed. 'I didn't mean to suggest you were only imagining it.' He returned to the bench. 'Maybe it has to do something with the fact that I'm a werewolf? Just before you came I was saying to Andromeda that we needed a good book on the subject. I've forgotten all I ever knew about them. Or us, I should say.'

Harry had never heard that werewolves could return from the afterlife. But then, he'd never spent a moment's time on Snape's infamous werewolf assignment, back in third year. He knew someone who had, though.

'You've nothing to be sorry for,' he told Lupin. 'I was merely fighting my own ghosts - sort of. Maybe you're right and studying werewolves will solve the enigma. I'll speak with Hermione.'

When he rose and turned to go, he saw Andromeda Tonks standing in the doorway to the kitchen. She was staring at the wand she was holding and didn't seem to pay attention to the two of them, but Harry wondered how much she'd heard.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter II**

Three days before full moon, Hermione Granger arrived with a medium-sized handbag. After she'd admired Teddy and told Remus he ought to make notes on his morphing, as literature on metamorphmagi was relatively scarce, they all sat down in the living room. While Andromeda poured tea Hermione began to rummage in her handbag. Knowing her reputation, Andromeda had expected it to contain the contents of a minor library, but Hermione took out no more than three books, one of which was quite small.

She held up the largest of the three. 'This one's a classic. _Hairy Snout, Human_ _Heart_. The author was a werewolf himself, so he wrote from first hand experience. I'd recommend this as introductory reading; it won't take you more than a couple of hours.' She handed the book to Remus.

'Thanks very much, Hermione.' he said. I'll read it before the moon is full.' He stared at the book as if he hoped it would ring a bell. Apparently it didn't, for he laid it aside without saying anything more..

But Andromeda recognised the edition. It was the one showing a face that was human on one side and wolfish on the other. Some time ago, a couple of months before Teddy's birth, Remus had said he hated the picture, pointing out that the monster looked friendlier than the man and that he considered this new edition an insidious piece of anti-werewolf propaganda probably meant to deter prospective buyers. Dora had agreed fervently and only half jokingly proposed to organise a book-burning if they won the war, which in its turn had led to a lively discussion about means and ends.

'This,' and Hermione showed at the next book, a compact little volume with a boring grey dust jacket, 'is a kind of handbook containing facts, guidelines and suggestions, both for werewolves and for the people who have to, um... I mean...'

'Lock them up? Deal with them?' Lupin offered quietly. 'I'm sure it's very useful, and I'll study it carefully.' He set it down on the coffee table beside the other one.

'And finally,' Hermione said, her face a little pink, 'there's this. I found it in the Rare Documents section of the Ministry archives. It's centuries old. I thought it might contain the answer to the question why you survived, though you were considered dead. If this doesn't, nothing probably will. I'd have read it myself first, but I never got 'round to it. The Burrow's a rather busy place at the moment...' Her cheeks turned pink. Andromeda suspected that for her, most of the business involved Ron Weasley.

The booklet Hermione held up had a cracked leather cover with runes of tarnished silver along the spine and on the front. Andromeda could barely decipher a _Wunjo_ and a _Raidho_ before Hermione put it on top of the handbook.

She perked up. 'So you disabled the protective jinx to smuggle it out?' The Rare Document section was as heavily protected as the Dark Magic library of her uncle Orion Black had been, and Andromeda had never been able to get past all his curses and jinxes.

'Oh, but I plan to return it. I merely borrowed it for a while,' Hermione hastened to say. 'The archivist isn't going to miss it; he didn't even know it was there.'

'I wasn't doubting your integrity. I'm just curious to know how you'd done it,' said Andromeda calmly.

At that, Hermione looked embarrassed, and Remus said: 'Well, if you don't mind _I_'d prefer to know more about the book itself, Andromeda. Unless you've got plans involving the disabling of a few such jinxes yourself in the immediate future.'

Was he joking? That would be a first since he'd come to live in her house. But no, he didn't smile. 'It was only for future reference,' Andromeda replied. 'I'm not in a hurry.'

'The book is entirely written in Ancient Runes,' Hermione said, 'and the title is -'

'Werewolf Lore,' Andromeda supplied, picking it up. 'Remus, I suppose you don't remember much about Ancient Runes, but I took a Newt in it, once upon a time. I can probably read this for you.'

'As I don't even have the faintest idea if I ever knew Ancient Runes, I'd appreciate that very much.'

'In that case,' said Hermione briskly, 'you won't be needing me any longer, and as I promised Ron I'd be back soon -'

'Don't let him wait, then! We'll take good care of the book,' Remus assured her. 'I'm very grateful for your help.'

When Hermione had left he turned to Andromeda. 'You know what I'm looking for in there, don't you?' he asked. 'You overheard me and Harry talking about it a couple of days ago.'

'You want to find out if any dead werewolves ever returned to the land of the living in the distant past,' she stated bluntly. 'Merlin knows they haven't in more recent times, or it would have been all over the Prophet and most of the population would panic.'

The lines in Remus's face suddenly seemed more pronounced. 'What I want to know above all,' he said, 'is this: do my dreams have any basis in reality, or are they no more than concoctions of a brain that has lost its way in this world?'

Her head snapped up. _So that's it... He was happy to be dead, but he's afraid it wasn't the real thing; afraid his dreams are merely the result of wishful thinking_. There wasn't much she could say to that, except in anger. He'd been granted the gift of life denied to her daughter and her husband, and he failed to appreciate it. What a lousy exchange. What a poor excuse of a werewolf. Maybe she should have left him at St. Mungo's.

'Try to use your son as a guide,' she said coldly. She almost added: _Or me. I know my way in this world almost too well._ But as she doubted that would be incentive, she refrained from doing so.

'I'm trying,' he said, his tone apologising and almost whiny. Andromeda wanted to slap him for disappointing her.

&&&

His love of Teddy was what kept him going, and Andromeda ought to realise this. But in all honesty Remus had to admit he wasn't responding too well to her genuine attempts to make him feel at home. That the attempts were mingled with sorrow was no more than logical, but she had never in so many words blamed him for not being Dora or Ted, and she had explicitly told him to stay. He knew he owed her a better response, but it was so much easier to live in those few early childhood memories that were left to him, or in his happy dream of being dead.

The prospect of turning into a monster soon made adjusting even worse. Hermione's first two books had crushed any hopes he might have entertained that it wasn't as bad as it seemed, even though _Hairy Snout_ assured him it didn't necessarily make him evil. Andromeda had taken the third one to her bedroom, the night after Hermione's visit. If she had managed to decipher it, she had refrained from mentioning so. He supposed she was still mad at him.

However, the presence of the book kept nagging at him, and the day before full moon found him in Andromeda's bedroom, looking for the cover with the silvered runes. It was on her bedside table, together with a water glass, a black-framed picture of her husband and her daughter - who stared at him without smiling or waving - and a wand that wasn't hers. Remus wondered if it was Dora's - or had her wand been buried with her? To his dismay he realised he hadn't been paying enough attention.

He picked up the book, slid it into the pocket of his robe and made to go. Whether it was curiosity or something else that made him hesitate and pick up the unknown wand he couldn't tell.

It was a revelation. Unlike his own wand, the one that felt dead to his touch, this one sprang to life the moment his hand closed around it. And Remus knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he could do magic with this one, that whatever else he might be, he _was_ a wizard first and foremost. He pointed it at the photograph of Ted and Dora Tonks in its black frame, and a spell came to him. _Accio_.

No sooner had he thought the word or the photo came flying towards his free hand, and catching it he saw the girl make a pig snout at him, while the man opened his mouth and said something. It looked like 'Right.'

'Indeed...' Remus murmured, setting the picture back. Briefly, he considered asking Andromeda right away if she would mind him using this wand to try and recover his magic. He decided against it. Werewolf lore first; the full moon was tomorrow.

He put the wand down and took the ancient runes book out again. Though he didn't recall learning any spells, he had used one successfully, and though he didn't recall learning his letters he was able to read (and he should have realised earlier that this meant he hadn't lost his acquired skills along with his memory). Maybe he would be able to decipher the text himself.

But apparently he'd never learned to read ancient runes after all. The text left him with the impression that birds of various plumage had been marching to and fro across the pages with ink on their claws, and that it would be mere coincidence if the result of their activities held any meaning. _I'll have to eat crow and ask for help, instead of waiting until Andromeda repeats her offer_.

He returned to the living room, where Teddy was lying in his playpen, gazing at the mobile hovering above him. Andromeda had charmed it to change colour whenever it turned, as it did right now, and Teddy's fluffy baby hair kept matching the colours one by one. Remus knelt beside the pen. 'You know what, little man?' he said. 'You're wiser than I am.'

The baby eyed him intently and he went on: 'You know what to do with your brand new life. Maybe I should take my cue from you?' He chuckled, and Teddy gurgled back.

It wouldn't be easy, though, he mused. Not while his dreams of being dead were still more vividly colourful than his waking hours.

Rising, he saw Andromeda standing in the doorway. She observed him silently, but her hopeful look didn't escape him. Remus held the book out to her. 'Can I still take you up on your offer to translate this for me?' he asked softly. 'Or are you afraid it will lead me into the wrong direction?'

She didn't reply immediately but searched his face for while, as if the answer lay with him. Which it probably did. 'If you want to set conditions -' he began.

'I was wondering if I should,' she admitted. 'But I don't think it will be necessary, after all.'

Her smile, however minimal, warmed his heart.

TBC

**A/N** Thanks to my reviewers. I'll keep writing, but some more reviews would be nice!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter III**

_Preliminary remark. To Grumpy Snail, who wanted to read about Remus's reaction to his transformation: Bear with me. There is a reason why I handle it the way I do in this chapter. _

They were standing before the fortified door in the cellar, Remus looking as apprehensive as she had expected him to be. 'So I go inside, take my clothes of and hand them to you, so as to avoid shredding them,' he repeated her instructions. 'Then you lock the door behind me and cast a silencing charm, and you return once the moon is down. The silencing spell will wear out at exactly that instant, so if you should be late I can bang on the door and call you if my claustrophobia gets the better of me. Though I probably won't be quite up to it yet.'

He laughed nervously, but she didn't smile, for he wasn't joking, just trying to make light of the situation. 'Basically correct,' she replied, trying to sound more business-like than she felt. 'I really wish I could do more for you, but _Werewolf Lore_ hasn't yielded any arcane solutions yet to ease your predicament.' So far it hadn't yielded anything useful whatsoever, but then she hadn't been able to read more than four pages, her Ancient Runes being rustier than they had a right to be.

She hadn't even mentioned the existence of the Wolfsbane potion yet, though it had occurred to her that she could sell some things in Diagon or Knockturn Alley to provide for a few batches. _Some of Ted's stuff, or Dora's_, a treacherous little voice in her mind said. _It isn't not as if they'll need it again._ She silenced it at once.

'All right then,' Remus said, though it wasn't, of course. 'I'm going in.' He crossed the treshold, his jaw clenched.

After she'd locked the door behind him, his clothes over her other arm, Andromeda felt guilty. She hadn't had an inkling of how thoroughly unpleasant this would be. Dora - her poor Dora - had never spoken about it; she'd carried the burden alone. When your parents declare you crazy because you're about to marry a werewolf; when your father shouts: 'And why not a pureblood supremacist, while you're at it?' and your mother asks: 'Why not a Dark Wizard?' you don't easily forget their reactions - though maybe you wonder what they were thinking, trying to raise you without prejudice because of their own past history.

And once your father grudgingly admits this werewolf seems a decent guy who tries harder to be human than anyone else he knows, and your mother gradually warms up to him because he is kind and helpful, and so much a gentleman despite his shabby appearance, and both confess they may have been mistaken about him, you'll want it to stay that way. You'll avoid confronting them with the gritty reality of what it truly means to cage a man like a wild animal every month - just in case they change their mind again.

Now that she had inkling, Andromeda gazed at the forbidding door, thinking that it wasn't fair. And she hadn't even seen the worst.

Then, quickly, she cast the silencing charm, unwilling to hear him groan in agony once the transformation would start, unwilling to hear him howl once it would end. _Yes, I'm also a coward. So what?_

She hurried up the stairs.

&&&

The cellar wasn't cold, as Andromeda had cast a warming charm that ought to last until well after his transformation. So if he was rubbing his arms, it had to be in fear and apprehension. Remus had tried to tell himself that fear was useless, that it was better to want whatever was inevitable, but apparently it didn't work that way.

He was about to lose his mind. This was the most frightening thing about it. He was going to turn into a monster, and it was only marginally reassuring that the only person he could hurt was Remus Lupin.

The cellar had a window, but he wouldn't be able to see the moon rise, as it would be on the other side of the house. Pacing about he focused on his body, wondering if he could feel anything yet. Would it start in his stomach, as an insatiable hunger after human flesh to sink his teeth in? Would it start in his throat, as an unquenchable thirst after human blood? Would it start with an increasing heart rate, or was that just his own fear?

But it was probably too early yet, as nothing happened. Remus sat down on the floor but soon rose again to resume his pacing. Had the moon risen yet? Why did it take so long? When the warming charm wore off, the chill added to his mounting unease, and a different kind of fear assailed him. Could the calendar be wrong? Could they be mistaken in the day? The idea that he would have to undergo this again tomorrow night made him cringe, and the idea that his transformation could have taken place yesterday while he was loose in the house with Teddy and Andromeda was too horrible to contemplate.

When he heard himself groan loudly, he realised head to get a grip on himself. With an effort he silenced himself. _It works after all_, he thought. _I want the inevitable. I'm actualling longing to transform now_.

&&&

Narcissa Malfoy was determined to catch her sister in the act of housing a werewolf. She'd been outraged when she heard it, just prior to Lucius's hearing at the Ministry, from someone who'd been talking to a friend who worked at St. Mungo's and knew that Andromeda Tonks had taken the werewolf Lupin home. A transforming werewolf suffering from memory loss under the same roof as a baby. Completely irresponsible.

The conclusion seemed inevitable: having lost both her husband and her only child, her remaining sister must have gone mad with grief. Narcissa knew _she_ would have, if she had lost both Draco and Lucius, or even only Draco. It was sad and understandable, but it couldn't go on. She Apparated to Andromeda's doorstep first thing in the morning, before she could lose the courage to do so. It was more than twenty-five years ago she'd last seen her sister, and the idea that she would see her own ageing process mirrored in Andromeda's face did not particularly appeal to her.

It took Andromeda more than a minute to answer the doorbell. When she finally did so, wand in hand as if she was expecting to find a stray Death-Eater on her doorstep, she did not look pleased.

'What are you doing here?' she asked in a deeper voice than Narcissa remembered.

She had aged indeed, Narcissa saw: the hair at her temples was going grey, while the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes and the lines around her mouth were quite pronounced. _She looks more than two years my senior..._ _and her robes are faded, too_. 'We need to talk, Meda,' she replied. 'It's very important.' When no invitation to enter was forthcoming, she added: 'I'd rather not do it outside, if you mind.'

Wordlessly, Andromeda stepped back and aside, but Narcissa waited for her to lower the wand before she stepped inside. Taking in her surroundings and sitting down in the least shabby looking armchair in the cramped living room (had this Ted Tonks not even been able to provide properly for his wife?) Narcissa waited for her sister to take a seat as well or at least offer her a cup of tea or coffee.

Andromeda did neither, adopting a rather rigid pose. The message was clear.

But Narcissa had known how to talk Snape himself into making an Unbreakable Vow, and she was not impressed by this display. 'As I see you're not expecting any small talk, I'll come to the point right away. You've got an infant under your care. And I hear you've invited a werewolf to live with you. A defenceless child and a monster - this really doesn't sound like a good combination to me.'

&&&

It was completely light outside when Remus woke. Maybe he ought to be relieved, but truth to say he felt rather bemused, not very rested, and sore. His bladder was rather full and his teeth chattered; it was even colder than it had been last night. He rubbed his stiff limbs; why hadn't they thought to put some old rug on the floor? Blinking against the bright light in the narrow cellar window, he recalled having had the Dream again, warm and peaceful, a sharp contrast with this bleak awakening.

He shuddered. As the silencing charm should have lifted by now he cried Andromeda's name and pounded on the door with his fist.

When no one came, another bout of irrational fear overcame him: what if something bad had happened to Andromeda and he was doomed to starve here? And, oh Merlin, what would become of Teddy?

The wave of despair that washed over him was strong enough to blast the lock from the door. He goggled at it for a while, but then it dawned on him. Involuntary magic. They had discussed it during dinner one day, talking about Teddy's morphing, which was also involuntary at this stage. Remus hadn't expected it to happen to himself, though.

Carefully he pushed the door open. Beyond it, he could make out the steps leading up to the hallway. He wished Andromeda had left his clothes at the foot of the stairs; now he'd have to sneak to his room in the altogether and risk being seen by her. Covering his delicate parts with one hand and feeling a little ridiculous, he made to ascend the stairs. Listening, he thought he could hear Teddy crying. Hopefully nothing was wrong with him.

The door opened and he jumped back to dive inside his prison again. He listened, but no one came down. Instead, he heard an unknown voice say something he didn't quite catch, to which Andromeda replied loudly: 'If you come one step closer I'll curse both your feet off.'

TBC

**A/N** - or rather, a question to those who are reading this: would you prefer me to update often, but with short chapters, of do you prefer longer chapters with greater intervals?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter IV**

Silence reigned, until Andromeda cleared her throat.

'You've made your point,' she told her sister in clipped tones, turning her wand round and round in her hand. 'According to the Prophet, your son and your husband were acquitted by the Ministry. I won't keep you from returning to your happy little family.'

She would say that, of course, and Narcissa felt a touch of pity. Nevertheless, she was not about to budge; Andromeda hadn't even admitted the werewolf was actually there. 'Dear Meda, look,' she began, 'I'm awfully sorry about your loved ones, especially as it was our...' Then, thinking better of it, she changed tack. 'Believe me, I've changed. I do feel responsible for more than the narrow circle of my immediate family. You are my sister, and that poor little boy is -'

'Do you even know what responsibility is?' her sister cut her short. 'You allowed the true monster to come near your own son with his filthy mark, putting his life in jeopardy. Was that the act of a loving mother?'

'Have you any idea to what lengths I've gone to protect Draco?' Narcissa could hear the shrill note in her own voice. 'How careful I had to be and what I've done, notwithstanding the tremendous risks? And not just for Draco! Did no one tell you I saved Potter's life?'

'If that is true, I'm sure Harry is profoundly grateful,' Andromeda said scathingly. 'I might have been as well, if you'd done the same for Dora. Weren't you one of the very few people Bellatrix actually listened to? You're sorely trying my patience, Narcissa.'

_How unreasonable. Bella was as easy to influence as a tornado, except by the Dark Lord. And she called me Narcissa._ 'Whatever happened to Cissy?'

'You tell me. If you can't, leave and think long and hard about it. When you -'

A kind of banging sound somewhere below them prevented Andromeda from saying more. Narcissa jumped up from her seat. 'The werewolf!' she cried with a mixture of triumph and fear. So it was here!

Andromeda didn't bother denying it. 'His name's Remus Lupin.' Frowning, she took a step toward the door. Narcissa heard a baby crying elsewhere in the house.

Her sister marched out of the living room and down the corridor, picking up a cloak from the hallstand as she went. Going after her, Narcissa received a dirty look and a threat to have her feet cursed off.

But it had never been her intention to follow Andromeda into the cellar. Once she was alone in the corridor, she went up the stairs to the first floor, where the baby was crying.

&&&

After muttering a 'Lumos', Andromeda began to descend. By the light of her wand she could see that the fortified door to the transformation cell stood partway open, the lock broken. So that had been the banging sound... She halted on the stairs. Who had caused it - the man or the beast? In a moment of panic, she almost fled.

_Use your wits, Dromeda_, she admonished herself. The werewolf wouldn't have stayed inside. The man would probably not have come out because he was naked. Swallowing, she continued down; to her annoyance, she was trembling a little. 'Remus?' she asked.

Behind the door,' came his slightly hoarse voice. The trembling subsided. 'Did you bring my clothes, Andromeda?'

'I'm afraid not - I got distracted by a visitor. But I've got a cloak.' She hurried to the door and handed him the garment without looking through the opening, though to her own surprise she was tempted. 'What happened to the lock?'

He took the cloak, and suddenly Andromeda saw that it was hers, not his; it probably wouldn't cover him entirely. 'Accidental magic in a moment of panic, I think. You didn't come when I called you. I'll try to repair it.'

Damn Cissy and her badly timed visit. 'I didn't hear you. Next time we'll have to make sure I will. Or I'll try to be there when you want out.' Previously, it had always been Dora who let him out while her mother remained aloof. It had been a matter of contention: Remus hadn't wanted his pregnant and clumsy wife to use the cellar stairs; Dora had refused to let anyone near him. _He really hates it when others see him after his transformation_, she'd explained. In the end she had won, armed with cushioning charms and a solemn vow to descend backwards. Andromeda had waited outside the cellar door every single time, ready to withdraw when her daughter made it back up again, hoping and praying disaster wouldn't strike. It hadn't. Not then. She took a deep breath. 'Remus, do you want me to help you to your room?'

'Thank you, but that won't be necessary,' he replied, still hiding behind the door.

'Are you sure you can manage, so shortly after your transformation?' He hurt himself, Dora had told her, made a bloody mess of himself, locked up with nothing to bite but his own flesh. _Merlin, why don't you just show yourself, Remus? I've seen blood and wounds before. _She'd been an apprentice at St. Mungo's after school, until she eloped with Ted and the Black clan bribed the board to throw her out._ I won't be disgusted. Why don't you let me help you? _

'I'm quite sure. Please. There's no need to let your visitor wait any longer.'

As far as Andromeda was concerned, Narcissa could wait until after Doomsday. But as she respected Remus's wish to be left alone, she sighed, left the cellar and returned to the living-room.

It was empty. Though she hadn't been in the cellar for long, her sister must have grown tired of waiting and left. Good riddance. Andromeda sat down. The old werewolf book from the Archives was lying on the coffee table where she had left it last night, but she had been reading the Daily Prophet when Narcissa came, and she picked up the paper instead. Before preparing Remus's breakfast, she had time to read an article or two while he went upstairs to take a shower and get dressed. Right now, she heard him close the cellar door.

_**No changes in werewolf legislation yet**_, one heading shouted. That should be _anti-werewolf legislation_. Not that it surprised her. In the still nearsighted eyes of the Wizarding World, Fenrir Greyback's crimes far outweighed Remus Lupin's participation in the struggle against You-Know-Who. Maybe the new Minister - _Kingsley!_ she thought, still not used to it - could take some initiatives to change things, but she could imagine he was swamped in work and had other priorities.

The stairs creaked, and something nagged at the back of her mind. Something that had happened while she was arguing with Narcissa, something that demanded her attention. Yes, of course! Teddy had started crying at the noise in the cellar. Andromeda put down the paper and rose. The crying must have stopped while she was talking to Remus, but it wouldn't do any harm if she -

A shout upstairs made her jump. 'You! What are you doing with my son!'

She raced upstairs, drawing her wand along the way. 'Stay away from me!' a woman's voice yelled. She knew that voice.

Teddy started crying again. 'Put him -!' Abruptly, Remus's shout broke off.

The door to the nursery was open and Andromeda threw herself inside, taking in the scene in one glance. Narcissa was standing beside Teddy's cot, the baby in the crook of her left arm, her wand in her right hand. It was pointing at Remus, who stood frozen between the door and the cot, one foot before the other, the cloak around his shoulders.

'Expelliarmus!' Andromeda cried. Her sister's wand was ripped from her hand and fell to the floor. Narcissa took a step backwards.

'That was dangerous,' she said. 'I could have dropped the child.'

'Do as Remus says!'

Narcissa didn't move. 'I went here to calm the child - maybe you remember he was crying? I'd actually succeeded, before the werewolf came barging in.'

'Do you seriously expect me to believe you?' Without taking her eyes from her sister Andromeda pointed her wand at Remus. '_Finite_.' Freed from the Petrificus, he surged forward to grab his son. Narcissa yelped when he touched her. Teddy's cries went up in volume.

'I don't care if you believe me.' Narcissa cast Remus, who was cradling Teddy in his arms and making soothing noises, a disgusted look. 'This household is a complete mess.' She raised her voice above the baby's. 'A dangerous dark creature, walking about only dressed in a cloak that doesn't even close properly, a poor little baby whose cries go unheeded because his grandmother has other priorities, while said grandmother -' She paused, lowering her voice to a venomous hiss when Teddy's protests became less strident. 'You know, Meda, the moment you came storming in, you looked exactly as deranged as Bella.'

&&&

Andromeda straightened; far from looking deranged, she appeared poised, stern and superior, Remus thought. 'Out,' she said, pointing at the door.

'My wand,' the blonde witch began.

'I'll deposit it at the Ministry's Lost and Found Office.' Andromeda put her foot on it. 'I said, out!' Her voice grew sharp. 'Before I lose control!'

The blonde witch almost ran from the room.

'Sshh,' Remus said soothingly to his son, though it wasn't really necessary anymore. With his free hand, he tried to close the front of his cloak. In one respect, the blonde woman had been absolutely right: he did look shockingly indecent.

Andromeda was shaking now, the aura of control dissipated. Still cradling the baby, Remus went towards her, and giving up his attempts to make himself decent, he laid a hand on her shoulder. 'It's all right now. Teddy's safe.' In all honesty, he wasn't entirely certain if his son had been in any danger to begin with. The woman had seemed to do what she claimed to be doing: calm the baby. And Teddy's hair had been blond when he entered the room, though it had turned dark now.

Remus sighed. What had happened was probably his fault; he ought to have remained calm. 'Sorry,' he said. 'I shouldn't have panicked, but when you see a totally unknown woman in your son's nursery, holding him as if he's hers... Who was she?'

Below, the front door banged shut. 'My younger sister, Narcissa Malfoy.' Andromeda sounded embittered. 'Her husband and son were Death-Eaters.'

'What?' Andromeda had another sister who'd been involved with Death-Eaters? And she had let this woman into the house - and left her to wander about with Teddy alone in the nursery? Remus's hand dropped from her shoulder. 'Why did you let her in?'

She shrugged, looking so pained that his beginning indignation subsided again. 'I don't know what I was thinking. I suppose I hoped she had changed. She deserted their cause before the end, more or less, unlike the other one. Apparently, I was ridiculously naive.'

'Why did she come... ow!' Teddy had grabbed a strand of Remus's hair and pulled it rather hard. He reached up to disengage the remarkably strong baby fist.

'Believe me, you don't want to know.'

'I can guess, after what she said about me just now.'

Robbed of his prize, Teddy began to protest again. Andromeda held out her arms. 'I'll take Teddy, so you can get dressed. Meanwhile, I'll cook breakfast for you. I promise not to let any more family members with dubious pasts into the house,' she added ruefully.

Remus wondered what else he ought to know about her family that she hadn't told yet. He handed the baby to her. 'Don't blame yourself, Andromeda. It was just an overreaction on my part. I wasn't prepared to encounter a complete stranger in my son's nursery, holding him as if it was the most normal thing in the world for her to do.'

She nodded. I can imagine it was a bit of a shock, especially after... last night.'

_That's nice of you, but you can't. You have no idea_, Remus thought.

When she'd gone downstairs, he went to the bathroom to relieve himself at last, and after that, much more slowly and with a pounding heart, to his bedroom. The calendar sat on the desk beneath one of the windows, and approaching it warily as if it would pounce on him if he made one false movement, he stared it in the face.

They hadn't miscalculated the phase of the moon, as he'd told himself in order to avoid hoping, and risk being disillusioned. Remus sat down on his bed, feeling weak in the knees. The moon had been full last night, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

All the same, he had not transformed.

TBC

**A/N**: A compliment to my reviewers! I'll try to keep posting shorter chapters at the current rate (though this one happens to be slightly longer than the rest).


	6. Chapter 6

V

Cissy was annoyingly loud, which probably meant she was very annoyed, thought Lucius while perusing the Daily Prophet after breakfast. She had Apparated with an ear-splitting crack and now her high heels were beating the newly polished floor into submission. Where had she gone, anyway, at the ungodly hour of half past eight in the morning? He adjusted the sash of his embroidered dressing gown, pretending to concentrate on the article he was reading.

'My sister,' Cissy announced with a hint of hysteria in her voice, 'is mad.'

'At you, my dear?' Lucius inquired.

'Mad as in "insane".'

He kept refusing to look up. 'Oh? I was under the impression that your mad sister was dead.' Which was greatly reassuring, though no one would catch him uttering such a sentiment, Narcissa least of all.

'I'm talking about the other one!' Cissy cried. 'She robbed me of my wand. I want it back, and I'm going to sic Magical Law Enforcement on her! They owe me for helping to bring the Dark Lord down!'

This caught his interest, in a rather unpleasant way. Frowning, he laid the paper aside. 'Why did you go to Andromeda in the first place?'

'People are gossiping about her and her daughter's werewolf. I wanted to warn her.'

_Why does she have to be so oversensitive about everything?_

'It's worse than I thought,' his wife ranted. 'She's neglecting the poor baby in favour of the monster. You should have seen it! No sense of shame at all.'

'What, the baby?' What baby? Lucius wondered, until he remembered about the cub, mainly because its existence had driven his sister-in-law, Bellatrix to unsuspected heights of raving eloquence. Even the Dark Lord himself had been impressed. _Now there's a happy thought fit to cast a Patronus on -_ those two were both dead, but he was alive, and so was his family.

'No, the werewolf of course! Who knows what the two of them are up to? They're a disgrace! Are you even listening, Lucius?'

'Good gracious,' Lucius exclaimed, studying Narcissa's face for the first time. 'You're really upset. Sit down, Cissy, and I'll send for some tea.'

'I don't want tea,' groused his wife, though she did sit down. 'I want my wand back.'

'Of course, dear,' he said soothingly.

'That werewolf must be divested of parental authority,' she went on, 'and Andromeda must be declared to be of unsound mind. I'll claim the child, so it can get a proper upbringing.'

'What, the werewolf cub?' Lucius exclaimed. 'You want us to raise a little monster?'

'Bah. You know better than that. Werewolves are made, not born.'

'Maybe the father's already bitten it.'

'I'll check him for bites first, then.' She laughed rather disturbingly. 'But if he's clean, I'm going to raise him. And you're going to help me.'

He really hoped she didn't expect him to try and exert his no longer existent influence in the Ministry. In due time he would no doubt regain it, but this was much too soon. 'I won't baby-sit the cub, if that's what you think, and neither will Draco.'

Narcissa waved his objection away. 'Of course not. We've got the elves for that. You're going to help me take the child from them.'

&&&

When Teddy was in his playpen and the eggs were in the frying pan, Andromeda stole a look into the nearest mirror and saw Bellatrix look back at her. _No, you don't_, she admonished herself. _If you're Bella, you'd better kill yourself_. _You're not crazy, just depressed, stressed. And possibly a bit paranoid_. After all, Remus could be right; maybe Narcissa's intentions _had _been benign. Unfortunately, there was no way to undo what had happened, to unsay what had been said. The two remaining Black sisters were more at odds than ever.

One thing was obvious, though: Remus must learn to reuse his wand. Or buy a new one, if the old one didn't work for him anymore. He'd been defenceless upstairs, which was not a good thing, even though the war was over. She wondered if Ollivanders had reopened yet. A visit to Diagon Alley - now there was a good idea; they could use the distraction. She'd have to bring Narcissa's wand as well to deposit it at the Ministry, or else she might find the Law Enforcement Patrol on her doorstep.

At that point, Remus entered the kitchen. Now that she finally saw him properly dressed and groomed after his night in the cellar, it struck her that he really didn't look too bad. A bit tired, but still better than she had expected, given the almost religious zeal with which Dora used to whisk him away to their bedroom the day after his transformation.

'So, how do you feel?' she asked, putting a well-filled plate before him. 'You look... all right.' She'd been about to say 'good', but she didn't want to give him the impression she was coming on to him.

'If you'd said 'good', I could have replied that I feel the way I look,' Remus said before tucking in

Shrugging off the unnerving idea that he was somehow using Legilimency on her (he must have forgotten there was such a thing, mustn't he?), Andromeda chuckled. She sat down and poured him a cup of tea, adding sugar and a dash of milk. 'So, um, no rough night this time around?'

He swallowed a mouthful of egg. 'I suppose it depends on what you mean by "rough". Lying naked on a cold cellar floor for most of the night is no picnic.'

Now why hadn't it occurred to her he might need a little comfort once he was human again? 'Next time, remind me to put an old rug on...' she began. Then it sank in what he'd said. 'Most of the night? But aren't you're supposed to grow, well, fur?'

'Yes, I was under that impression, too.' He cut off a bit of sausage. 'But I didn't.'

Andromeda was speechless. Was he telling her... Vainly she tried to find an alternative interpretation for what he'd just said. Remus had swallowed the sausage bit and was drinking his tea by the time she found her voice. 'You're having me on.' He'd been a prankster back at Hogwarts. Not that he remembered any of it, but his personality couldn't have changed all that much.

When he put down his teacup, she saw no smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, no mischievous gleam in his eyes. 'That would be a poor idea of a joke. I'm telling you the truth, Andromeda. I didn't transform last night.'

He seemed absolutely serious. 'But how...?'

'It may have something to do with my visit to... well, the land of the dead, to put it that way.'

'Like "if the dead can return, anything goes?"'

Or with the loss of every single memory of my life as a werewolf - including the bite itself. Or both,' he went on, ignoring her scepticism.

An interesting argument, Andromeda had to admit, but no more than that. No doubt Remus would say the same if he was delusional. 'And would this mean you're not a werewolf anymore?' she asked.

He shrugged, suddenly looking oddly forlorn. 'If I could be certain about that, I could allow myself to be exultant, instead of just relieved because nothing happened last night. But frankly, I haven't got the foggiest. I think we need to find out what more the ancient runes book has to say and hope it'll shed some light on the mystery. And I want to contact Harry, and Hermione, too.'

Again the book! 'Well, if you're sure...' He sounded both convinced and reasonable, and she was almost inclined to believe him. Almost. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. Not with a baby in the house.

She bit her lip and decided to change the subject; the next full moon was mercifully far away. 'But Remus... well, I'm not saying this isn't important... only, after what just happened in Teddy's nursery, we've got a more pressing matter on our hands. You really need to carry a wand from now on. You were completely defenceless against Narcissa and lucky she merely used a Petrificus on you, not something more nasty.' It would be just like her sister to assume she'd get away with casting a Crucio on a werewolf - and she could even be correct. 'Maybe you should try your wand again.'

Remus was staring at his hands, and she suspected that he was going to refuse, that he would prefer to sink his teeth in the werewolf riddle. However, when he looked up he said: 'If I've been out of bounds, don't hesitate to tell me, Andromeda. The point is, I saw a wand lying on your nightstand the other day, and... the short version is that it works well for me.'

If she hadn't been sitting already, she'd have been in need of a chair. She supposed she looked rather stricken, for he quickly laid a hand on hers and said, his voice subdued: 'It was Dora's, wasn't it? Forget I ever mentioned it. Forgive me. I'll try my own wand again.'

Feeling like a swimmer coming up for air after a long dive, Andromeda sucked her lungs full. 'No. Dora's wand was buried with her. The one on my nightstand was brought by a Ministry owl, the morning of Harry's visit. There was a note, too. It said the wand was found, together with many others, in a depository created by during the time the Death-Eaters were in control of the Ministry.

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. They were all wands that were taken from Muggleborns. Most of them were neatly labelled, the labels bearing the names of the owners. It's thought that the Death-Eaters were planning to check the names against the information in Ollivander's ledgers. That way, they would be able to see what kind of wood the wands were made of and what the cores were. They probably planned to sell them to new generations of Hogwarts students - none of them Muggleborns, of course. Or so the Ministry assumes. Once the clerks had sorted them out, the wands were returned to the owners who survived the war, or sent to the relatives of those who did not.' She blinked, but the tears broke through anyway. 'The wand you tried was Ted's.'

TBC

**A/N:** Once more, thanks to my reviewers! If you have an opinion of this story, let me know!

Gadira, you'll hear a little more about the male Malfoys in a later stage, but you're right: I'm not going to address the question of how exactly they achieved their acquittal, but I'll include a little more information in a future chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter VI**

When the long-eared owl arrived, the Aurors were having their bi-weekly post-war briefing. A number of Death-Eaters had decided not to await the result of the final showdown between Harry Potter and their Dark Master and fled the scene. Nott and Rowle had been captured but some others remained at large, and the hunt was going on. Savage had just finished reporting the latest sighting of Rodolphus Lestrange somewhere on the Yorkshire moors and the Head of the Aurors, Gawain Robards, was about to ask him a question when the bird announced its presence.

It was Williamson who opened the letter it carried. 'Drat,' he said, scanning the text. 'The Malfoys again. You'd think they'd lie low for a while, but forget it. Now Mrs. Malfoy's got her wand stolen, it seems.'

'The poor wretch.' Niobe Green adjusted her eye patch. 'So, where shall we mislay her missive?'

'We're not doing any such thing. This shouldn't have been sent here in the first place,' Robards said, annoyed. 'Give the owl a treat and send it on to the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol. Or no, better still, put Gumboil's name on the letter. Let him decide if it's opportune to chase a Malfoy wand.' The Hit Wizards currently had a busy time chasing criminals who'd robbed the temporarily deserted homes of Muggleborn wizards while the Death-Eaters were in control of the Ministry.

'Maybe not, sir.' Williamson, who had continued reading, sent the parchment over to him with a flick of his wand. 'There's something about a werewolf in here. A Dark Creature, and the Dark _is_ our area of expertise.'

Savage, who had been slumping in his chair, straightened. 'Has that filthy Greyback escaped and got himself a wand? From what I hear, he was familiar with the ins and outs of Malfoy Manor.'

Looking up from the letter, Robards shook his head. 'If Greyback escapes, we won't hear it first from the Malfoys - they probably won't be there anymore to report it to us. It's that Lupin fellow, the one who turned out to be alive after the Battle of Hogwarts.'

'A shame, really,' muttered Savage. 'Should have had the decency of dying together with his wife. Or better still, in her stead. We really could use Tonks now, especially now that Kingsley's become too important to chase Dark Wizards. I mean, Minister Shacklebolt.'

'Aw!' Williamson yelped. The owl had seated itself on his head and was pecking at his skull. He tried to shake it off, his ponytail swishing like that of an animal beset by flies. When this didn't help, he rose to find some owl treats.

Robards frowned. 'According to the letter, Lupin's living with Mrs. Tonks nowadays, and they're raising a baby, apparently Lupin's own. However, the Malfoys are of the opinion this is not a healthy situation and want us to intervene. There's a P.S. stating they'd be willing to adopt the baby, but this looks like a hasty scribble added at the last moment.'

'I bet Lucius Malfoy doesn't know about this postscript,' Niobe Green remarked.

'You're not on,' Robards almost snapped. 'This is irrelevant, Green! Catching stray Death-Eaters has our priority now. We'll investigate this matter once we've got all of them behind bars, but right now we're not going to spend any precious time on it.'

'Aren't you dismissing this a little to easily?' asked Savage. 'I'd be willing to pay them a visit in my spare hours.' He bared his teeth in a fierce grin.

'Well, I can hardly prevent you from paying social calls in your own time, can I?' said Gawain Robards with a sigh, laying aside the parchment. 'As long as it doesn't interfere with your search for Lestrange. Speaking of whom, I'd like to know a few more details about this Yorkshire sighting, the day after he killed the two Muggles.'

'Ask away, sir,' Savage said, slightly subdued.

The meeting went on without further disturbance, but afterwards, Niobe Green took Savage aside once all the other Aurors had filed out. 'I'm with you on the Lupin case,' she told him. 'Let's go there after work.'

'I knew I could count on you,' he replied, hitting her on the shoulder.

&&&

So the wand had been Ted's... When he asked Andromeda whether his personality resembled Ted's in any way, her reply was 'not to a T'. She also assured him he had never bested Ted in a duel, so it couldn't be a matter of the wand having changed allegiance.

The wood was hawthorn, eleven and a quarter inch, with a core of unicorn hair. His own wand was made of ash, but Remus didn't remember what core it had, and as neither he nor Dora had ever talked about it with Andromeda, it was impossible to say if the two wands had anything in common.

When Andromeda told him to consider Ted's wand his, he had objected at first. What if he lost it, or broke it, or had it somehow taken from him? Wouldn't it be a little like losing her husband once again?

She told him not to be dramatic. For whatever reason, the wand had obviously chosen him. She liked the idea that it would be used again, and she'd consider it a personal insult if he had the evil courage to decline.

One of the things he had learned since she'd taken him home was that Andromeda was not to be trifled with. And as insulting her was the last thing Remus wanted to do anyway, he accepted Ted's gift from beyond the grave and started practising right away.

By the end of the afternoon, he had remastered a few dozen spells with the help of Ted's wand and Andromeda's old copy of _Where__There's a Wand, There's a Way_. In fact, he had hardly needed the book; many spells came back to him spontaneously, emerging from that part of his brain that simply knew things even when his memory couldn't access them at will.

Meanwhile, Andromeda had left to do some shopping in Diagon Alley and leave her sister's wand at the Ministry's Lost and Found Office. When she still hadn't returned by dinnertime, Remus warmed a bottle of milk to feed to his son and provided some entertainment by making the kitchen chairs perform a dance around the table. Watching this, Teddy giggled, a wonderful little sound. He also made big eyes. Very big eyes - in fact, they were morphing to twice their normal size, Remus noticed. Teddy seemed to like them that way, for he giggled again and didn't change them back, not even when the chairs stopped dancing.

It looked a little unsettling and Remus just began to wonder if it wouldn't be advisable to transfigure them back to their normal size, when the doorbell rang. He shoved Ted Tonks's wand in the inside pocket of his robe, and lifting the baby from his lap he went to open the door.

Two strangers with identical badges on their robes, a man with bushy sideburns and a woman with an eye patch, were standing on the doorstep. Both of them stared at Teddy's huge eyes, and Remus wished he'd put his son in the playpen before answering the door. 'Can I help you?' he said, trying to sound both casual and polite.

'Are you the werewolf, Remus Lupin?' the man asked in a rather aggressive voice.

As Remus didn't recall any post-war wrongdoings on his part to warrant this treatment, he balked at this approach. 'Could be,' he said curtly. 'Who am I speaking with?'

'Don't recognise our badges?' the woman said.

Remus had no idea if his amnesia had become common knowledge in Wizarding Britain. But if it hadn't, telling these people about it would not improve their impression of him, which was probably low enough as it was. 'I do,' he lied brazenly. 'But I was asking for names, and they're not on the badges.'

'The name's Savage,' said the man, without extending his hand. 'Green,' the woman with the eye patch added with a smirk. 'Can we come in? Conversations on doorsteps tend to become uncomfortable after a while.' To Remus's surprise, she did offer him her hand, and he shook it tentatively with his free one.

'So you _are_ Remus Lupin,' she said with a little smile.

_A tricky one_. But carrying that name was something he could admit without second thoughts. 'I am,' he replied, and let them in. Offering them a seat, he put Teddy into the pen, wishing vainly that his son would let go of the eye-morph. But all Teddy did was fixing his oversized eyes on the mobile slowly turning above him. Maybe he didn't know how to morph back yet.

The two "badgers", as he called them silently, declined drinks and stated their business right away. 'Lupin, we've been informed you're raising a baby here,' Savage began.

Green indicated Teddy. 'I assume that's the one? What a... cute little child. Yours?'

'My son, yes,' Remus confirmed. 'His mother was Nymphadora Tonks, but she was killed in the Battle of Hogwarts.'

'Ah, yes.' Savage nodded. 'Our colleague. Resigned when You-know-Who took over the Ministry, though she would have been fired in any case because of her marriage to you.' His eyes bored into Remus's. 'Waste of a talented Auror.'

_Thanks very much for the information_. 'The war wasted many lives,' Remus replied in a sad voice, pretending to misunderstand him. 'My father-in-law was killed, too. Ted Tonks.'

'And you're living with his widow now, Andromeda?' Green asked. 'Her maiden name was Black, if I recall correctly.'

'Yes.' Remus frowned, realising too late how this could be interpreted. _You knew she was tricky, idiot!_ Andromeda wouldn't be happy at all if she knew. 'We're living in the same house, because we're raising Teddy together,' he added in a belated attempt to control the damage.

Green rose to bend over the playpen. 'Hello there, Teddy,' she cooed. 'You've got big eyes, just like the wolf in the Muggle fairy tale my husband used to tell to our son, when I was young and still had two eyes. But you're just an innocent little boy, I bet; it's your Daddy who is the wolf, isn't it?'

'Did you transfigure his eyes, Lupin?' Savage demanded to know. 'A bit rough, isn't it, given the child's age? He can't be much older than two months.'

'He's almost eleven weeks old, and a metamorphmagus,' Remus replied stiffly, trying to decide which of the two Aurors he disliked more. 'Like his mother.' They'd been familiar with her; they ought to know.

'That's a pretty advanced morph for a baby,' Green drawled. 'I don't remember Tonks doing anything like it while she was our colleague. 'Pig snouts, duck bills, all right, but eyes the size of galleons?'

Again, Remus wished Teddy would morph his eyes back to normal. He was about to turn toward his son, trying frantically to think of something that would encourage the child to do so, when Savage barked: 'Hand me your wand!'

With Ted Tonk's wand burning in his inner pocket, Remus schooled his face and said: 'I think I left it upstairs.' He got up. 'I'll go and - '

'I've got it here for you,' said Andromeda's voice from the doorway.

TBC

**A/N**: As always, thanks for reviewing. As I'm feeling creative, next update may be in three days, instead of four...


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter VII**

Though he made a fairly good job of it, Remus couldn't quite hide his shock, Andromeda noticed with some regret. The Aurors were frowning. If they suspected her of eavesdropping, they were absolutely right.

'I didn't notice you coming home, Andromeda,' Remus said after a brief silence.

'I Apparated directly into the bedroom, as I'd bought a couple of... unmentionables in Diagon Alley,' she replied quickly. 'I saw your wand lying there, so I took it along when I went downstairs, thinking you might need it. That's when I discovered we had visitors.' In reality, she had Apparated into the kitchen a while ago, as silently as possible, and overheard the entire conversation from the moment the Aurors had entered the living room.

The female Auror with the eye patch - Dora had introduced the two of them once at a reception, but Andromeda had forgotten her name - smirked. Apparently, the reference to 'the bedroom' had not escaped her, and she probably interpreted this as a confirmation of her idea that Remus Lupin and Andromeda Tonks were living as husband and wife. _As insinuated by Cissy in a letter, no doubt_. Apparently her sister hadn't wasted any time owling the Ministry. _ I'll get back at her. _

The wand,' said the male Auror, whose name was Savage, if she recalled correctly.

She handed it to him.

He accepted it with a nod. 'Is this yours?' he asked Remus.

'It is,' Remus answered, casting Andromeda a brief glance that told her nothing, as he had his face under control again.

'Did you use it to transfigure your son's eyes?'

I have not,' Remus replied.

_No, he hasn't, you fool. _The child's stuck in a morph. Happens sometimes to young metamorphs, until they learn to control their abilities.' Andromeda smiled encouragingly at Teddy, knowing he needed to relax completely to be able to let go. In Dora's case, making silly faces had often helped, but with these two idiots present, this would be a last recourse.

The morph remained.

'We have methods to check the veracity of your claim, Lupin,' Savage said, ignoring Andromeda.

'Do you have a warrant?' she said sharply. With an Auror in the family, you learned to ask such questions.

'At the moment, we don't need warrants,' Savage replied. 'The war may be over, but as some Dark Wizards remain at large, we've been authorised to do whatever it takes to bring' - and he cast Remus a hard glance - the wicked to justice.'

Sufficiently vague, Andromeda thought. Still, it could be true - even though applying it to a man who had fought against the dark side was the height of absurdity. _Morph back, Teddy, for Merlin's sake! _

'You may wonder why we attach so much weight to this matter,' Eye patch took over. 'I'll admit that in itself, transfiguring a baby's eyes is hardly Dark Magic. But loving parents do not perform such magic on their own children, do they? And the big question is, whether a werewolf can be a loving parent.'

Andromeda knew a threat when she heard one, and her heart sank. Apparently, there was more to this visit than merely harassing a social outcast. What exactly was her sister up to? Before her mind's eye she saw Narcissa in the nursery, cradling the baby in her arms. Had she been about to abduct Teddy?

At that moment, Remus rose. 'I have not, and I repeat, _not_ transfigured my son's eyes.' He went to the playpen and lifted Teddy out. 'Look.'

They all did. Teddy's eyes were back to normal. Almost, at least: they had assumed the colour of Andromeda's lime-green robe.

'I told you my son's a metamorphmagus,' Remus said calmly, looking from Savage to Eye patch. 'You were right. A loving father doesn't transfigure his child's eyes. Go ahead and investigate my wand, using any methods available to you. I've got nothing to hide.'

'Then you won't mind if we take the wand along to the Auror department to carry out a short investigation, just to be sure,' Savage said; it was not a question. 'You'll get it back in due time.'

'I fail to see why you need to confiscate it, Mr. Savage.' Andromeda objected; for some reason she couldn't pinpoint it seemed a bad idea if they'd cast a Priori Incantatem on it.

'It's all right,' Remus said. 'I didn't transfigure anything at all today.' And if he had, it wouldn't have been with his old wand, she knew.

'You don't seem too sorry to part with it, Lupin. Are we sure this isn't Mrs. Malfoy's wand?' Eye patch asked suddenly. 'The one that was stolen from her while she was visiting here?'

'Mrs. Malfoy's wand is at the Ministry's Lost and Found Office. I took it there today,' Andromeda informed her tartly. 'I can show you the receipt.' She pulled out the slip. 'It wasn't my intention to keep it. We merely had a... sisterly altercation. The Black temper, you know.' She bared her teeth in a Bellatrix-like smile, very aware of her resemblance to her late other sister.

At this unsubtle reminder, the two Aurors exchanged a look. Savage pocketed Remus's old wand and rose quickly. 'Well then,' he said. 'That's all, I think.'

Eye patch made to rise as well, but suddenly her left hand veered off in the direction of the table to reach for _Werewolf Lore, _which was still lying there. 'Interesting...' she mused. 'I know there's exactly such a booklet at the Ministry Archives. It's very rare. Fancy to find a copy in this house.'

'It's from the Library at 12 Grimmauld Place, my family's old residence,' Andromeda lied. 'We borrowed it from Harry Potter, the current owner.' The namedropping would have done old Slughorn proud.

Eye patch removed her hand. 'I see,' was all she said.

&&&

Remus put Teddy into bed while Andromeda went to see the two Aurors out. When he came down, she was sitting behind a half-emptied glass of wine. A second glass stood waiting for him. 'Thanks,' he said. 'I can use one too.' He took a sip. 'What?' he asked when she eyed him intently without saying anything.

'I'm waiting for you to call me a terrible liar. That's what you Gryffindors think of us Slytherins, isn't it?'

'Is it?' he said. 'I wouldn't know, as I don't remember anything about Gryffindor. But you're not terrible at all. It's doubtful whether the Aurors caught any of your lies. That makes you a pretty accomplished liar, I'd say.'

'And which ones do you think you caught?' she asked with a levity sounding false to his ears.

He leaned back in his chair. 'One. You didn't Apparate into "the bedroom". There was no reason for you to do so, as, and that's lie number two, you knew it wasn't there. I left my old wand in my own bedroom. Also, I think I'd have heard the stairs creak, though there might be a sound-muffling spell I'm not aware of at the moment.'

Andromeda emptied the rest of her wine in one go. 'Sorry for appearing to confirm that woman's suspicions that we're conducting some kind of sordid affair.'

'Well, we know the truth, don't we?' Remus said, not quite looking at her face.

Andromeda snorted. 'Mentioning any of the other upstairs rooms wouldn't have made sense,' she went on quickly, 'while the truth - the kitchen - was an even worse idea. It's close to the living room and I didn't want them to think I'd been eavesdropping.' She poured herself more wine. 'It took concentration to Apparate softly, but I succeeded very well, don't you think?'

Now she was rambling, Remus thought - an attempt to distract him? Did she think he was angry because of the confiscated wand? But he was the one who had told Savage to go ahead and check the truth, wasn't he? Or was she more embarrassed by this "sordid affair" they were not having than she wanted to admit? As a werewolf, he hardly had a reputation to lose in this world; the two Aurors had dispelled any lingering doubts as to that. Andromeda's reputation on the other hand...

'Any more lies?' she asked, tackling her second glass of wine.

'The one about the werewolf book. You had better decipher it really quickly,' Remus replied, though by now he suspected that Andromeda's skills at Ancient Runes had become a bit rusty. 'I also suggest we tell Harry he lent it to us, just in case this Green woman decides to check the story.'

'Ah, yes, that's her name,' murmured Andromeda after another mouthful of wine. 'You know, Dora told me once she always exchanged eye-jokes with Mad-Eye Moody.'

Realising this was just another diversion, Remus ignored this. He opted for the direct approach. 'What are you worrying about, Andromeda?'

'Worrying? I'm scared to death!' she cried in a shrill voice. We haven't seen the last of those Ministry types! Narcissa must have told them they ought to take Teddy away from us, claiming we're unfit to raise him. And I can't miss him. I'll go mad if they take my daughter's baby as well! It's all I've left of her!'

Remus cringed. She said 'we', but he knew only too well the problem didn't lie with Andromeda. He was the objectionable one. Moreover, he was the one who had caused the trouble with her sister that had set all this unpleasantness in motion. Now, it was becoming blindingly obvious he'd have to leave until he was certain he was no longer a werewolf and could prove it to the Ministry. He'd miss Teddy terribly, of course, but if it was only for a couple of months...

Except that he really didn't want to leave anymore, now that he was beginning to feel at home in this world again. In this house. With Andromeda. 'They don't have any evidence that we're abusing Teddy, or neglecting him. They won't find anything if they investigate my wand,' he tried to reassure her. _Egoist._

Not that they would have been able to find any evidence of a transfiguration spell if they _had _confiscated Ted Tonks's wand. But it would have been a close thing. Remus Lupin, the doting father, had actually been about to try and transform his son's galleon-sized eyes back to normal by manipulating the wand in his pocket, only few moments before Teddy had morphed them back of his own accord.

Andromeda emptied her second glass; she was drinking too fast. 'Won't they? I knew there was a reason why I didn't want Savage to take your wand, and it has occurred to me now. What was the last spell you cast in the Battle of Hogwarts?'

Remus shrugged. 'How am I to know?'

'It could have been Avada Kedavra. You were fighting Death-Eaters, and the Killing Curse is an Unforgivable. I told you about it.'

She had. Remus doubted a Killing Curse would be unforgivable if you used it against the enemy in a war - but what if it was forgivable, only not when cast by werewolves? And was he the kind of man to throw Killing Curses or other dark spells at his adversaries, fighting for his life and the future of his loved ones? He couldn't tell, but it seemed definitely possible, and Andromeda appeared to think it could land him into trouble. 'Then why did you hand it to Savage in the first place?' he shot back, feeling unjustly attacked now.

'Did you have Ted's wand on you?' Andromeda asked in return, pouring herself a third glass of wine.

He pulled the wand out and showed it to her before taking the bottle away.

Glaring at him, she said: 'Don't you see? If I hadn't given your old wand to Savage, he might have searched you and found Ted's. I couldn't take the risk they'd confiscate it. I simply couldn't!'

_Ted's wand. She doesn't really consider it mine. _Remus was hardly surprised; whatever Andromeda might have said about wanting him to use it, to her it would forever remain her dead husband's property. Sacred in a way his own old wand was not. 'Where did you find it?' he asked. 'I mean, my old wand. You Apparated into the kitchen, but I'm positive it wasn't there.'

'I took it from the windowsill in your bedroom this morning, before I left for Diagon Alley and the Ministry. You didn't remember what core it had, so I went to Ollivanders to try and find out more. He's got a room full of thick ledgers going back centuries.' She drank deeply again. 'He handed me the one covering the year 1971, the year you first went to Hogwarts. Your wand was on it, all right: ash, eleven inches, and a core of black unicorn hair.' With a sudden, vehement gesture, she pushed her glass away, looking sick. It toppled, spilling the remaining wine on the table. 'Exactly the same core as Ted's.'

Of course, Remus thought. It fit: both Ted Tonks and he had married a woman descended from the Black family. It might even explain why Ted's wand worked so well for him, though it would be cold comfort to point this out to Andromeda. And he did want to comfort her. He wanted nothing more than to put his arm around her shoulders. But he doubted she'd welcome the gesture.

TBC

**A/N**: I've got a question concerning something I'm going to write in one of the next chapters. Was Dolohov killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, or did he survive and go to Azkaban?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter VIII**

'What do we do now?' Savage asked Niobe Green after they'd withdrawn to the crowded Leaky Cauldron to discuss their findings behind a couple of drinks.

She shrugged. 'We could check Lupin's wand, I suppose, though I doubt it's any use. It's obvious he was speaking the truth about the baby. As it is, we haven't got anything on them that Robards would accept even if you'd acquired the evidence legally. Let alone the majority of the Wizengamot. We'd better send the wand back. Maybe you shouldn't have taken it in the first place.'

'You don't think showing our teeth was a good idea? I beg to disagree,' Savage said, bristling. When she didn't reply, he went on: 'What about the Malfoys? What if Narcissa decides to pursue the case further?'

'The Malfoys are out of favour with the Ministry at the moment,' Green replied, 'and they aren't our problem anyway.' She laughed curtly. 'The other Black woman seems more of a danger to me, maybe even more so than the werewolf. She lied about having Apparated into the bedroom. I just know it. A pity Mad-Eye never left me his eye, like he promised... Or else I could have gazed through the walls and seen her before she actually entered the living room. Possibly _long_ before she entered.' Green adjusted her eye patch as if to mimic a wink.

'You think she was hiding something?' Savage asked eagerly.

Four boisterous young wizards noisily made their way to a table in the nearest corner, and Green waited until the scraping of chair legs over the floor had ceased. 'If she was, she did it well, as we can't prove anything. You'll want to watch out for her, Nimrod. I'm not sure she bought your speech about having the authority to bring the wicked to justice, and I didn't like the way she brought up Harry Potter. A true Slytherin, that one, despite her marriage to a Muggleborn.'

'We _have_ been granted more powers, for the time being,' Savage pointed out, ignoring the rant.

'With regard to Death Eaters, yes. As these two aren't Fenrir Greyback and Bellatrix Lestrange but Remus Lupin and Andromeda Tonks, I doubt Robards will be happy if he hears you overstepped your bounds.'

He frowned at her, visibly stung at the suggestion that he would get to bear most of the blame in that case. 'And here I was, thinking you were with me, Niobe.' His voice was heavy with reproach.

'Who say's I'm not?' Looking at the bar, Green raised a hand to signal for a refill. She lowered her voice, and Savage had to bend forward to catch her next words over the din in the pub. 'Listen, if you like I will take over your piece of illegally obtained evidence and send it back to show you I'm not opting out.'

'All right,' he said after a brief silence.

'You see? We can still see eye to eye.'

Savage pulled a face. He produced the confiscated wand and rolled it across the table.

At that moment, Tom came hobbling to their table with his bottle, but Niobe held her hand above her glass wanted to refill it. 'I suddenly remembered I'm supposed to have dinner with my old aunt - did I tell you I'm eating around until my new apartment is inhabitable? If I'm lucky, I'll be just in time to avoid being hexed.' She rose. 'I'm sorry, Nimrod.'

'Nice family,' her colleague muttered, picking up the wand. He let the barkeep pour him a second glass of firewhiskey, pensively watching Niobe's retreating figure.

&&&

If you've got a saving people thing, having already saved the world is no reason to sit back. Once Harry had been informed about the confiscated ash wand and the Aurors' veiled threat to take Teddy away, he knew almost immediately where he and his best friend might come in handy. They would have to cool their heels for a couple of days, though, as Harry abandoned his initial idea of searching the Auror Department under the Invisibility Cloak to steal the wand back. He hadn't any clue as to its exact whereabouts, which rather complicated a search. Also, using more official channels in a creative way might have its charms, too, he had to concede.

Meanwhile, said best friend's girlfriend set about to kill two birds with one stone by studying _Werewolf Lore _(to Andromeda's secret relief) and promising to smuggle it back into the Archives once it would have yielded up its contents to her daunting mind. To those who knew her it didn't come as a surprise that she finished the little book in less than an afternoon.

Sitting in the sunny garden behind Andromeda's house, she reported her findings to an audience consisting of Harry, Ron, Andromeda and Remus, who was listening avidly.

'The final chapter is the only really interesting one,' she said. The rest is old hat or nonsense, like the idea that werewolves have hair on the inside of their hands. Apparently people weren't any wiser in the past than they are nowadays.'

'Did the book say hands, or paws?' Ron quipped.

'Ron!' Hermione began, but seeing that Remus was eyeing his palms with a grin she shrugged irritably. 'The last part is fascinating, though. There, an anonymous 16th-century writer, whoever he was, recounts an early medieval German story about a werewolf who was hit by a curse that was invariably fatal to humans.'

'The Killing Curse?'

'Harry,' said Hermione, 'if the author had identified it, I'd have called it by its name.'

'Right, sorry. Go on,' Harry said.

'The werewolf was considered dead, but was summoned back to life with the help of something called a _gral_. This seems to be a magical device in the form of a stone, judging by what the text says. I suppose the word is German, so I'll look it up in a German wizarding dictionary; hopefully it's not a hapax.'

Nobody seemed inclined to ask her what a hapax was. 'Sounds like the Resurrection Stone,' Harry said thoughtfully. 'Does the story mention anything about a ring?'

'It doesn't.' Hermione shook her head. 'And it can't have been the Resurrection Stone. According to the tale of Beedle the Bard, the dead this stone recalls will be sad and cold and never at home in the mortal world.'

'And you're saying I'm not sad and cold?' Remus asked pensively.

Hermione blushed. 'Not when I see you with Teddy. Or...' She glanced at the others, her eyes lingering longest on Andromeda. Then she made a kind of general gesture at their surroundings: the house, the garden, the sun on the leaves and flowers thriving around them, the blue sky with its scattering of clouds, and the cream tea on the table. 'You don't look very sad to me. You seem to feel at home, to enjoy our company. So I don't think you're suffering. Not now.'

Looking around, Remus nodded slowly. 'At first, I _was_ sad. I felt lost and not at home - it wasn't you, Andromeda; I really wasn't making a good job of being alive. As for cold... it was the world that seemed cold to me, and to be honest, some of it still does. But not this place, now, and not you people.' He smiled.

'Oh, it wasn't just you.' Andromeda shrugged. 'Someone who mourns a husband and a child can be poor company at times. If it weren't for Teddy, both of us would have been lost.'

After a profound silence, Harry cleared his throat. 'So, if this whatsitsname, _grell_, is not the Resurrection Stone itself, could it be a German version of it?'

'It could be, but then I'm at a loss explaining the connection to an English werewolf.' Hermione scowled; admitting her own incompetence never came easy to her.

'Well, werewolves aren't human. Uh, I mean... not all the time...they're, um, different, y'know...' Ron stammered. 'No offence intended, Remus. But what if this German thingamy _is_ the Stone, or one very similar to it, and it just works differently on werewolves?'

'No offence taken,' Remus said. 'Not even if it should turn out I _am_ still a werewolf. You may be on to something there, Ron.'

'What more does this German story say?' Harry asked.

'The entire story goes as follows,' Hermione said. 'A wizard, one Lohan Garin, uses the _gral_ to call this dead werewolf back to life so he can expiate his sins and make redress for the wrongs he committed before he died. One of them was biting the brother of his lady love.' She eyed Remus apologetically. 'I'm afraid he doesn't react at all well. He denies he's a werewolf, claims he didn't love the lady and didn't bite her brother, and he refuses to make redress. It is part of a longer tale with Lohan Garin as the hero, but the author of Werewolf Lore leaves it at this and only adds a trite and stupid moral: "Don't expect a werewolf to do the right thing by those he has wronged".'

Harry made a depreciative noise. 'So Mr. Anonymous was just another bigot, huh?'

An odd expression appeared on Remus's face. 'To right wrongs,' he muttered. 'That does sound relevant to me...'

'Please, Remus,' Hermione said. 'Stop being unnecessarily harsh on yourself! Why would this apply to you, of all people?'

Remus rose abruptly. 'I may need to do some more dreaming.' With determined steps, he marched to the back door and into the house.

'Now he's turning tail _again_,' Ron muttered.

'It's not my fault!' Hermione protested.

'When did I say it was?'

Andromeda set aside the remnants of the muffin she had been crumbling to feed the fish in the garden pond. 'Excuse me, please, but this calls for an intervention.' She got up and hurried after Remus.

Before Ron and Hermione could start bickering in earnest, Harry said loudly and quickly: 'You know, one thing's remarkable.'

'Yes!' With a look of relief Hermione turned towards him. 'That man in the story claimed he wasn't a werewolf. That's exactly what Remus does, isn't it?'

&&&

Andromeda raced up the stairs. Remus had a mild sleeping draught - not Dreamless Sleep - beside his bed, as he had been prone to sleepless nights the first weeks after the battle. But this was not the moment to indulge. Ted had told her once about some Muggle procession somewhere on the Continent: two steps forward, one step back. Remus would fit right in.

She caught up with him when he was about to close his bedroom door, and she pushed inside without compunction. 'No more of those dreams, please. Not on purpose.'

He sat down heavily on his bed. 'But I keep having this feeling they hold the key to the riddle. Something must have happened in that forest to...' He fell silent, and without looking up at her he added quietly. It was just a hunch, and now it's gone. But I believe I know what to make of the story Hermione told. Tales change in the telling, embellished in some places, shortened in others. The one in_Werewolf Lore_ is very ancient, so it probably changed, too, before the English author wrote it down.'

'What are you getting at?' Andromeda asked, a little impatiently.

'Bear with me.' Remus raked his hair with a hand, and now he looked up at her. 'That werewolf is me. He dies, but he has left some business unfinished in life, that's why this _gral_, whatever it may be, is able to get a hold on him. He returns to the mortal world but discovers he's no longer a werewolf. Apparently people don't believe him, nor does he get a chance to prove he's telling the truth - unless a biased storyteller who didn't like the idea left out this part. And the reason why he denied both his crimes and his love is probably amnesia. All he could remember of his life was the time before he became a werewolf.'

He took a deep breath. 'But this was also left out, or perhaps it was never part of the story, because nobody ever made the right diagnosis in those bygone days. Though it would be strange that no living soul ever wondered why a man would deny having loved as well as having sinned.'

Andromeda sat down beside him. With the exception of the day Teddy was born, she had never seen Remus so intense. He was an excellent storyteller, and she could see how he must have been a great teacher as well. What he said sounded very convincing. 'But why do you think he wouldn't have transformed?'

'Because he ceased being a werewolf when he died?' He smiled wryly. 'Just a guess. I pity we don't know what curse it was that hit him, and how it affected him.'

Either he really believed what he was saying, or he was a consummate liar and actor.

'If his werewolf part was killed,' Remus went on, 'this could explain the amnesia. Like me, he would only have recollections from the time before he was bitten. My guess is, that he received the bite as an adult and probably never even noticed at first that part of his memory was gone.'

He shrugged. 'Of course, we don't know if the change was permanent. We still don't know it in my case either. Though I find myself hoping the werewolf walked out of Lohan Garin's story to start a new life somewhere, freed from the harsh rule of the moon. That he found a wife, had kids and lived happily ever after until he died of old age.'

Andromeda was glad the story ended where it did, instead of telling how people had hunted the poor werewolf down and killed him for being an unrepentant sinner as well as a monster. When Remus rose and crossed to the window overlooking the garden, she followed him, not sure he wasn't trying to distract her. She had half a mind to take away the sleeping draught.

Remus opened the window. Bending over the sill he said: 'Harry?'

'Yes?' Harry gazed up from what looked like a lively discussion with his friends.

'What exactly did I say to you in the Forest?'

'You mean, before I...' Harry thought for a moment, then rose and walked to the house until he was right below the window. He looked up at Remus. 'You don't know?'

'I never remember any words from those dreams. Only images. And feelings.'

'Well,' Harry said, lowering his voice a little. 'You told me you were sorry you would never know your son. But you hoped he would understand that you'd tried to make a better world for him, where he could be happy. That's the gist of it. Why?'

Remus hesitated. 'Would you agree if you were my son?' he asked finally, ignoring the question.

Harry opened his mouth - and shut it again, looking stricken. Silence fell. Ron's hand, about to grab a sandwich, fell back on the table.

'Harry,' Andromeda heard Hermione say in a small voice. The rest was inaudible, as Remus closed the window.

'Unfinished business,' he said. 'Redressing wrongs. Right.'

TBC

**A/N: **Thanks for reading. A bonus to everyone who gets the Lohan Garin reference!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter IX**

Carefully, Niobe Green placed the werewolf's wand on the desk in her cubicle, where it gleamed in the artificial ray of sunshine slanting through the magical window. It was evening, and like most of the Ministry the Auror Department was empty but for herself and Dawlish, who was having a meeting with a couple of Hit Wizards. She wanted to have this over and done with before the next briefing of the Death-Eater hunting squad tomorrow morning.

Pointing her own wand at the one before her, Niobe cast the spell: 'Prior Incantato.' A smoky image drifted up from the wand tip. It consisted of two ghostly figures, one of which was holding on to the other. A swift wand movement by the latter caused a flash of purple that threw back the former. She stared at them for a few moments before she cast a Deletrius, and both figures dissolved.

So Lupin had cast a simple Revulsion Jinx - not even a curse, let alone one meriting a one-way ticket to Azkaban. How disappointing. She could easily guess what had happened: the werewolf had disarmed an opponent, who had promptly latched on to him to hinder him in his movements. Lupin had managed to get rid of him, but it was apparently the last thing he did before another Death- Eater - Dolohov, it was said - had used the distraction to cast an AK at him. A failed one at that, as the target was still alive, though he had been declared dead at some point. Sloppy of those who had checked his pulse. Sloppy of Dolohov, too, to produce such a weak Killing Curse, and quite unexpected in a thoroughly evil bastard like him. But her real anger was aimed at the Death-Eater who had interfered in the duel and prevented Lupin from firing something nasty and deadly at his foe.

Well, wishing his last act in the battle had been less trivial wouldn't get her anywhere. She'd have to change tactics. And return the wand before the Black woman would urge Lupin to file a complaint. If there were repercussions, most of them would probably come down on Savage's head - deservedly in part, as his manners were only marginally better than his name - but she _had_ accompanied him. Better do it at once. On to the Owl office. And then, home.

Her lonely home, where no one was waiting for her. Niobe sighed. Picking up Lupin's wand, she looked around her cubicle, staring at the maps, memos and Death-Eater faces as if to find inspiration there. When her eye fell on a very old Prophet clipping that should have been archived years ago, her mind latched onto the word _Archive_.

Picking an owl and sending the ash wand on its way was a matter of minutes, as she didn't feel the need to write more on the accompanying note than 'cleared'. Having done this, she descended a few levels down again to the Archive. As an Auror, she was authorised to enter them and remove anything she wanted, provided she left a note in its place and didn't take it out of the Ministry without the archivist's clearance.

The Rare Documents Section was in a remote and badly lit corner of the Archive, so she cast a Lumos. If she recalled correctly - she had borrowed _Werewolf Lore_ once during her second year of training, when they were covering Dark Creatures - it ought to be somewhere on the topmost shelf, among other anonymous writings from long past centuries.

Except that it wasn't, and it hadn't been misplaced on any of the other shelves in the section either. She straightened with a little smile. So either the Black woman or the werewolf was a thief. Or both, but her bet was on Andromeda, who after all had also robbed her own sister of her wand.

When she turned to leave, a sudden noise shattering the peaceful silence of the ancient documents made her jump. Was that the door? Who else would enter the Archive at this hour? Quickly, she muttered 'Nox' and withdrew behind a row of charters, casting a Disillusionment Charm on herself for extra security. Footsteps approached, and light undulated along the walls and shelves towards the Rare Documents Section. Niobe tried to breathe inaudibly. A moment later, the woman stepped into her field of vision, face outlined in the glow of her wandlight.

Niobe recognised her at once. It was Hermione Granger, holding a booklet in her left hand. _Werewolf Lore_.

Did this mean Granger was the thief? Frowning Niobe watched as the young woman pointed her wand and cast a silent spell over it. If her appearance at this time of day had left any doubts whether she'd borrowed the book legally, this particular act dispelled them. Only the archivist was allowed to put back the protective jinxes.

With precise movements, Granger put Werewolf Lore on the top shelf. After having adjusted a few other books she stepped back to overview her work. Then, with a satisfied nod, she left. Niobe waited until she heard her close the door. Then, she crept out of hiding to pull_Werewolf Lore _from the shelf again.

With a brief glance at the silvery runes on the cover she put it into her pocket.

&&&

Andromeda woke up chewing on the same two questions that had kept her mind occupied last night before she fell asleep. The first question was deceptively innocent. Why did Ted's wand work so well for Remus? In many respects they couldn't have been more different: Ted had been jovial, straightforward (too much at times), pedestrian and self-assured, whereas she'd come to know Remus as restrained, secretive and full of self-doubt, but possessed of an edge that Ted had lacked. And unlike Ted, Remus was almost painstakingly objective, provided he managed to retain his head.

Still, there was common ground, too, and maybe this was more important than what separated them. Ted had been kind, caring and practical, qualities that Remus shared. He was definitely less of a slob than Ted had been, but still not nearly tidy enough in Andromeda's eyes - though this was a deficiency shared by much of the male population. And finally, Ted had loved fun, like Remus used to do before he had left to fight at Hogwarts and got himself killed. If he had been killed.

Like last night, at this point the matter of the wand receded before the onslaught of grief threatening to overwhelm her every time she thought of that battle. She was only able to counter it by focusing on the second question, more baffling and more disturbing than the first one. What exactly had happened with Remus during that battle? Was it as he had suggested: that it was the Dark Creature in him that had been killed? That he had somehow returned to the world fully human?

But, and that was the disturbing part: was he fully human? Was it true that he hadn't transformed, or was he delusional in believing so? No one had been with him in the cellar that night. Andromeda didn't think he'd lie on purpose - but what if he wasn't entirely sane? What if it was wishful thinking on his part? What if Remus would insist there was no need to lock him up next time?

Discussing it with Harry seemed out of the question; Remus meant a lot to him, she sensed, and he would not take it kindly if she suggested the man was either lying or deluded. She'd simply have to find a way to see what was going on inside the cellar next time

Footsteps going up the stairs told her that Remus had risen while she was still dozing. He must have warmed Teddy's second bottle of the day - she'd taken care of the first and then crept in bed again - and was going to feed him now. Past time for her to get up.

Downstairs, a little later, she found an intruder in her kitchen. The long-eared owl had flown in through the open window and seated itself on a chair back, eyeing her with a baleful look. _How appropriate_, she thought when she saw that the letter it brought bore the Malfoy family seal.

She threw the owl a couple of treats, wondering what Narcissa would have to say, and why she had sent a regular letter, instead of a Howler. Preparing to be outraged, Andromeda opened it. The letter wasn't from her sister, though. It was from Narcssa's son and the message was as brief as it was baffling.

_'Dear Aunt Andromeda_,' it said, _'I hope you are well and enjoying your new company. In case you would like to go out together one of these days, I would be willing to baby-sit the cub. Please let me know if I can be of service. Yours sincerely, Draco Malfoy_.'

She was still contemplating the message, when Remus came in with Teddy, who was clutching the empty baby bottle in his little fists. Looking from her to the owl he asked: 'Bad news?'

'It's from my sister's son. So the answer is probably yes.' She handed him the letter.

His eyes scanned the text. 'Probably?' he said with a wry face. You mean you're not sure you want to go out with a guy who doesn't know whether he is a werewolf or not? That's just as well then, as I can't even pay my own drinks until my war pension finally arrives.'

Impatiently, Andromeda threw the letter on the table. Was this the moment to start joking? 'We're not going to use Draco as a babysitter at all!' she replied. 'Remember I was wondering if my dear sister was trying to abduct Teddy?' Remus nodded. 'Well. Though it beats me why Draco would lend himself to a silly plan his mother has concocted, this looks suspiciously like another attempt.'

Andromeda got up and went to the drawer where she kept a quill and ink, plus a few sheets of parchment for short messages. 'I'd better write that we're not falling for it.'

'I don't know,' Remus said thoughtfully. 'If I wanted to abduct a baby, I'd never offer to baby-sit that particular child, as it would make me the prime suspect if I succeeded.'

'For Merlins' sake, Remus, it's your own son we're talking about! And this letter insults both of you by calling Teddy a cub. These people cannot be trusted.' Andromeda slammed the drawer shut and sat down to compose her reply. The owl hooted.

'We could invite Draco here, ask him a few questions and observe his reaction,' Remus suggested stubbornly. 'If he wants to be helpful, telling him off might not be the best thing to do. Just now you said he probably wouldn't lend himself to his mother's silly schemes.'

_Why does he have to pick this moment to be objective?_ If he had never met any of the Malfoys after he'd lost his memory, he would have a good excuse. But he had seen Narcissa, he had caught her with his son in her claws and heard her denigrating words. Surely it would occur to Remus that she was perfectly capable of signing a letter with her son's name? And once invited, come here disguised as Draco with the help of Polyjuice? Andromeda dotted an i so vehemently that the point of her quill broke off. She threw it down.

'Please calm down, Andromeda. Maybe you could send the owl back with a message telling Draco that you'll consider his offer and will let him know your answer soon,' Remus said soothingly by way of compromise, looking at the fresh inkblot on the parchment. 'I'll get you a new quill from the writing desk in the living room.'

Though she could practically hear him think she was being paranoid, she had to admit there was something to be said for his suggestion. It couldn't do any harm if Narcissa thought they'd fallen for her trick. On the contrary: it would give her time to take protective measures against her remaining sister's perfidious schemes.

'All right,' Andromeda sighed, and she took a clean sheet of parchment. It wasn't until she'd sent the owl on its way that it suddenly struck her to which part of the letter Remus had reacted.

&&&

The chief Auror must be having a field day, Harry thought, looking around the conference room of the Auror Headquarters. He didn't like being gawked at, with or without awe and wonder, but he supposed Robards deserved his speech for having been accommodating.

'... proud to announce the presence of two promising young wizards among us today,' Robards was saying. 'They requested my special permission to attend one of the briefings of the Death-Eater Hunting Squad. A request, I admit, which I would not normally have granted to aspiring Aurors, fresh from Hogwarts, who haven't been officially admitted to the training programme yet. This is no playground for the inexperienced. Yet...'

Harry tuned him out again, preoccupied as he was. Yesterday, he'd had a minor row with Hermione. She kept voicing doubts about Lupin's claim that he had not transformed during the last full moon. That was bad enough as it was, but she was definitely going to far by suggesting Lupin had been mental since he returned from whatever state he had been in after the battle. Harry had loudly defended the man he considered his own friend now as well as his father's, and it was only after Ron had intervened with that he'd begun to realise why. He felt guilty.

Remus's question had hit him hard. If he were Teddy, would he understand why his father - no, both his parents - had left him to fight for a better world? Harry could hear himself say it, back at 12 Grimmauld Place after that awful fight with Lupin: 'Parents shouldn't leave their kids unless - unless they have to.' He'd called him a coward for leaving a pregnant wife, yet he had welcomed him as a fighter at Hogwarts after he'd left an infant son. And Tonks - had he tried to stop her when she followed Remus into battle? _Unless they have to._ But when _did _they have to? One or two people wouldn't have made any difference, would they?

A mild kick in the shin shook him out of his troubled thoughts. Robards had finished and the room rang with applause. 'Rise and bow!' hissed Ron, who was doing precisely that.

Harry got up too quickly, overturning his chair as if he'd inherited Tonks's clumsiness. He grinned, somewhat embarrassed.

The applause subsided, and the briefing began. Aurors Williamson and Stalk had made an arrest the previous day, apprehending a minor Death-Eater named Sharkey in the village of Little Haywood. Their chief and most of their colleagues lavishly praised them. Next came Dawlish, who claimed he'd have caught his target, Yaxley, if he'd been authorised to Imperio him.

'Unforgivables are not to be used, unless to save lives,' was Robard's reaction. 'You know that, Dawlish. Make them a habit and they'll bring you down, eventually. Case in point: Bartemius Crouch sr.'

Privately, Harry thought this was reaching a little, but as Dawlish's remark was the cue Ron and he had been hoping for, he didn't say so. Ron raised a hand. 'I've got a question about the limits of what Aurors are allowed to do at the moment. What with the odd Death-Eater on the run.'

'Please, go ahead, Mr. Weasley.'

'Is it true that Aurors can enter private homes any time? And that they are allowed to confiscate any items they find there?'

An Auror sitting with his back to Harry dropped his quill; it floated gently to the floor.

Robards nodded: 'Provided the inhabitants are suspected of harbouring Death-Eaters, the Aurors are authorised to do so. For the time being.'

'And if one of them's a war hero who happens to be a werewolf?' Harry asked.

The Chief Auror stared at him. Then his chin jerked into the direction of the man who had dropped the quill. 'Savage!' he barked. 'You didn't!'

'He confiscated Remus Lupin's wand, you know,' Ron told the assembled Aurors. One or two of them actually looked shocked.

'He's got it back!' Savage turned to a female Auror with an eye patch. 'You said you'd send it back, Niobe!'

'I did!' the woman said defensively, looking as if she'd just swallowed a dungfly. 'But apparently the werewolf and the Black woman saw fit to -'

'You're talking about my friends!' Harry interrupted her hotly, though he did think they could have informed him about the return of the wand.

'If you please, Mr. Potter,' Robards said in a somewhat strained voice. 'Let's get this properly sorted out.'

Harry nodded and listened to what Savage and the woman called Niobe had to say. Their version of events didn't differ markedly from the one Remus and Andromeda had given him. The main divergence concerned the omission of Savage's lie about Auror authorisation, which did not come as a surprise to him.

'You were badly out of line, both of you!' Robards snapped when they were done. 'I've half a mind to suspend you. What were you thinking?'

'Suspend us?' Savage's voice went up in dismay. 'But sir, the squad can't miss us, and I'm hard on Lestrange's tail!'

'Are you?' Robards said disdainfully. 'Then why did he manage to kill a Muggleborn witch near Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire country recently, while you were still chasing him in Yorkshire?' He's murdered five people so far, and one of them a child!'

Savage muttered something that sounded like: 'We don't know for sure it was him.'

Harry started to rise. On Salisbury Plain? Mrs. Tonks's house was near Salisbury Plain. Remus and Andromeda had to be warned! 'Ron,' he whispered. 'We've got to leave!'

'Why?' said Ron rather loudly. 'Waste of a good show.'

'You want to know what I was thinking, sir?' Raising her voice Niobe turned to her boss. 'I was thinking that a child shouldn't be raised by a Dark Creature and the sister of an insane Death-Eater. The woman's a thief as well. She stole a wand _and_ a rare book from the Archives. It was -'

'Enough!' Harry heard Robards bellow while he was on his way out of the conference room. 'You've obviously taken leave of your senses, and I shall...' His voice trailed away. 'Mr. Potter? Where are you going?'

With his hand on the doorknob Harry said: 'Sorry, sir, have to go. I'll explain later.' Looking over his shoulder, he saw Ron had decided to follow him after all.

TBC

**A/N**: This time, bonus points go to the readers who get the double Tolkien reference. The allusion in the previous chapter was to one of the heroes in the German Grail tradition, Lohengrin (here disguised as Lohan Garin), also know from one of Wagner's musical dramas. Congrats to Maeve Riannon for recognising him!

Next time: What's Rodolphus Lestrange up to - and where is Draco?


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter X**

**A/N 1:**_Kindly substitute the word "effing" with its ruder equivalent while reading. As a non-native speaker of English I have no idea if this can be safely used in a T-rated story..._

Rodolphus Lestrange pulled his no longer pristine black robes closer around himself. Though it was late in June, it was a chilly morning. The non-abating drizzle permeated everything, and he had no shelter, not even the leaky roof of some abandoned shed. He was a hunted man as well as a haunted man, and he'd lost his grounding when that Weasley cow had killed Bella.

He and she had been quite recently married - a marriage of convenience but very much to his liking, as she was a beautiful and high-spirited young woman - when the dark loser had first launched his Pureblood Superiority campaign. Bella had proposed they join up at once, but doing so they'd walked right into what was ultimately a trap. Not that she'd ever seen it that way, completely focused as she was on the Cause, devoted as she was to their leader until her last breath. He had, but only after it had all gone to the dogs.

He had embraced the Cause wholeheartedly. Purebloods ought to rule the world and those effing mudbloods must break their wands or else die lingering deaths. Muggles were hardly better than animals. He had looked forward to hunting them some day, even before merely casting AKs at them became boring.

Bella had never stopped enjoying herself until the day she died. But Rodolphus wasn't nearly as good at casting the Cruciatus as she used to be. Some time during the Second War he'd given up his attempts to match her. Bella could have tortured those sodding Longbottoms into insanity without anyone's help. She'd been one hell of a woman. A bit scary at times, but this had merely added spice. A bloody shame they'd had to spend their best years in that hellhole of Azkaban. He'd have loved to see Bella bear his children and raise them to embrace the true belief.

But in the end the dark loser had turned out a sham. He'd made them swallow lies, not death. Yesterday, Rodolphus had found a discarded copy of the Quibbler in a small village in Yorkshire. It was a special war issue that contained an account of the dark loser's life, among other things. At first, Rodolphus had thought it was no more than an effing piece of Ministry propaganda. He'd refused to believe Riddle hadn't even been a Pureblood. After brooding on it for a while, though, he'd had to admit it did make sense. If Riddle had been a Pureblood, he'd never have trusted Snape, the half blood, over Bella. Severus Sodding Snape, who had been Riddle's undoing together with that other thrice-cursed half blood, Potter. A Pureblood wizard would have sent them both to the werewolves. Riddle had betrayed the Cause from the very beginning. They'd staked everything on a falsehood.

But the treason of Bella's entire family had almost been worse. It was a mercy she'd never found out that she was the only one who had had remained true to the bitter end. Her sisters and cousins had all preferred husbands, children, friends and apparently even a bloody house-elf, to the Cause. True, some of them had got what they deserved, but in a just world all of them would be dead.

And he, Rodolphus Lestrange, was here to bring a little more justice in the world.

&&&

Remus laid the Daily Prophet screaming **DEATH-EATER BROUGHT TO JUSTICE **aside with the headline down. Someone had just Apparated in the garden. Or two someones, to be precise. Andromeda's wand, which she was using to levitating plates and mugs to the table for lunch, jerked. The crockery crashed to the floor, except for one plate Remus managed to catch in a reflex. Teddy, dozing peacefully in his baby rocking chair, woke up and began to simper.

'Shh,' Remus said, hurrying to the door. 'Harry!' he exclaimed, when he saw who had invaded the garden. 'What's up?'

'Merlin's soggy suspenders,' grumbled Ron, pulling his left foot out of the pond. 'Why didn't I remember this was here? Well, at least I didn't get splinched.'

'Use a drying spell,' Harry told him. 'Can we come in, Remus?'

Inside, Andromeda had managed to Repair the shattered crockery. She lifted Teddy out of the rocking chair and kissed his nose. He gurgled, happy with the world again.

'Something up?' she asked.

'We've just been at the briefing,' Harry replied, turning his gaze from the baby. 'Those two Aurors got a good dressing down from Robards. But we've actually come to warn you. Rodolphus Lestrange has been seen near Salisbury Plain.'

Andromeda clutched Teddy against her chest. 'Lestrange?' she said faintly. The baby grabbed the collar of her robe and tried to put it in his mouth.

_Wasn't Rodolphus Lestrange the husband of Dora's murderer?_ 'Maybe we'd better -' Remus began.

Andromeda shook her head. 'I'm not about to break down.'

Seeing her face, Remus had his doubts. He turned to Harry. 'Does he have a wand?'

Harry looked at Ron, who was lingering in the doorway, rolling his eyes now. 'I didn't stay to ask,' he confessed. 'Lestrange seems to have run from the battle, but whether someone had disarmed him first... I can make a Floo call to Robards's office to try and find out.'

'Was Rodolphus the Death-Eater who... killed me?' Remus heard himself say.

'Huh?' said Ron. One of his feet was still outside; he'd managed to spell his trouser leg dry but not his shoe. 'What makes you think so?'

Harry opened his mouth. If he was about to suggest that Lestrange might be skulking around the area because he wanted to have another go at Remus, he might have a point. But apparently he had second thoughts, for he held his tongue.

'I just wanted to know,' Remus said, telling himself he was entitled to a modicum of curiosity regarding the trifling matter of his own demise. Especially as he wanted to find out exactly what curse had hit him, and the caster was bound to know.

Andromeda sighed. _I wish you'd drop this_, her facial expression said. Remus wished he could.

'It was Dolohov who got you, Remus, not Rodolphus Lestrange. He was defeated by Professor Flitwick in the battle and sent to Azkaban,' Harry answered Remus's question. He gestured towards the living room. 'Shall I Floo Robards now?' Without waiting for a reaction he headed off to the fireplace.

Sent to Azkaban? Well, in that case he'd have to pay the prison a visit someday, to ask his "killer" what curse he had used. But that could wait. Remus turned to Andromeda again. 'If Lestrange is prowling around Wiltshire, maybe you should -'

'I won't hide, if that's what you were going to say,' she cut him short, her voice low and somewhat strangled. 'Whatever effect the name Lestrange may have on me, I'm _not_ afraid of Rodolphus. Both Ted and I were better duellists in our fourth year than he was in his seventh. You know who I think is a greater threat - and that threat isn't further removed than the Plain is. Malfoy Manor's in Wiltshire, too.'

Remus still doubted that Narcissa Malfoy wanted to abduct Teddy, but it seemed futile to restart the argument. Arguing with Andromeda was hard labour in any case.

In the silence, they could hear Harry's Floo conversation as background noise from the living room. Ron, who had withdrawn to the garden bench outside the kitchen, was muttering to himself. 'Bloody hell! Why doesn't this spell work on leather?'

'Because leather dries more slowly than cloth.' Andromeda handed Teddy to Remus. 'Come, I'll do it.'

Ron's shoe was dry and back on his foot by the time Harry returned from the fireplace. The Chief Auror was not in his office, he told them. But he had managed to speak to Dawlish, and according to him Lestrange had fled the battlefield with his wand, before anyone could disarm him.

'Just as I expected.' Resolutely, Andromeda resumed her previous task of laying the table. 'Harry, Ron, will you be staying for lunch?'

The two young men exchanged a look. 'That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid we've got something else to do,' Harry announced with a glint in his green eyes.

Remus could guess what the something else was. For a moment he considered offering his assistance, but though he did have a working wand now he wasn't sure he could be called a fully qualified wizard yet. And these two young men were adults, more experienced than many wizards and witches twice their age.

'Good luck then!' he said.

'See you.' Harry smiled at his godson. 'Bye, Teddy!'

Remus lifted one of Teddy's chubby arms to wave at him.

&&&

Lucius Malfoy was looking for his son. They would be going over the finances of the Malfoy Estate, sadly shrunken after the upstart impostor Riddle had foisted himself and his entourage of thugs upon their hospitality for prolonged periods of time. The amounts of money he'd had to cough up to purchase their acquittal had something to do with it as well, but they had been a necessary evil. It was fortunate so many Ministry employees kept running in the ancient treadmill of corruption, despite the Operation New Brooms launched by Shacklebolt. All the same, unlike his father, Draco must learn to make ends meet from the outset, which Lucius feared would not be to his liking.

It was, of course, possible his son was playing truant precisely because he suspected this. But it wouldn't do, Lucius decided. No indulging on this count. He swept out of the card room, where Draco also shone with his absence, and headed up the stairs, nodding at some of his forefathers' portraits in passing. If the boy was still lying in, he'd half a mind to cast an Aguamenti on him; it was half past one in the afternoon.

However, Draco wasn't in his bed, nor was he sitting behind his writing desk in the adjacent room. Borage's potion book was lying on it, spread open at the page featuring the Felix Felicis and flanked by a piece of parchment covered in notes. Draco was studying for his NEWTS, he knew. As the tests hadn't been held at the normal time due to the series of unfortunate events ending with the Battle of Hogwarts, all seventh years were granted the opportunity to do them at the end of August. The Ministry had even offered special tutoring to Muggleborns who had been kicked out of school last year. Galling, but only to be expected.

Lucius knew that Narcissa was mortally afraid their son would want to chose a career in the outside world and set up his own household once his test results were in, and it occurred to him that this might be the reason she wanted to adopt the cub. A silly fear, and a silly wish. Neither would come true.

He was about to leave when his eye fell on the last word on the parchment. Or rather, on the signature at the bottom, for now he saw that, far from containing notes, it was a letter. The signature belonged to his surviving sister-in-law.

'Dear Draco,' it said. 'You are welcome to visit Remus and me in The Mudhole' - was that the Mudblood Ted Tonks's sorry sense of humour? - 'and make the acquaintance of the little werecub, whose name, by the way, is Teddy. Who knows if you and he won't get along splendidly - the two of you are related, after all. We appreciate your offer to be of service and hope to discuss it during your visit here. Please let us know when it will be convenient for you to come. Kind regards, your aunt Andromeda.'

Lucius snorted. So Draco had sent the badly matched, tasteless couple a note offering to baby-sit the werecub, and they were taking it seriously? What a lark. Chortling, he laid the letter back on the desk, but his amusement evaporated soon. Of course, it wasn't as if his son could write any less-than-pleasant letters these days; like Lucius's own, his owl post would remain Ministry-supervised for a year, just like their Floo calls would be monitored and their Apparating licences had received the _Conditional_ stamp. Money couldn't buy everything, alas.

With a sigh, he made to resume his search. However, on leaving the room he suddenly remembered that Narcissa had told him she'd be going to the Ministry this morning to retrieve her wand and inquire whether the Aurors were going to act on her letter about the Lupin brat (which he'd have intercepted if he thought they would, as he was checking _her_ owl post). Was Draco keeping her company? In that case, seeking him here would be pointless.

_Oh well, we'll look at those ledgers tomorrow_, Lucius decided, not without relief. He went downstairs again. A quarter to two; almost teatime. He was about to call the new house elf, when Narcissa came out of the parlour, brushing off her elegant robes. She was looking moderately satisfied, just the way he liked her.

'Ah, good, you're home,' he greeted her. 'Did all go well, dear?'

'Most of it,' she replied. 'Thankfully, I've got my own wand back - I really hate to use Bella's; maybe I should have buried it with her.' Lucius nodded understandingly. 'As for the other matter, the only thing the Aurors did with our letter was send it on to a hit wizard called Gumboil. Very annoying.' Lucius nodded again. 'You'd think they'd be a little more grateful for my role in keeping Potter alive, but no.' Lucius spread his hands. 'So I went to Gumboil's office, and guess what? He's going to arrest Andromeda!' Now Narcissa laughed gleefully.

What for? Lucius wanted to ask, but then something struck him. 'You keep saying "I". Wasn't Draco with you, then?'

'Draco?' she asked, frowning, which didn't become her. 'No, isn't he at home?' When Lucius told her of the letter he'd found on their son's desk, the frown disappeared. 'Well, that's obvious, then. He went to have a look at the cub. It's a cute little metamorph, actually, though I doubt he'll like it before he's got children of his own. I'll be curious to hear his assessment of the situation over there.' She smirked.

Had she send Draco to gain incriminating evidence, or what? Lucius didn't quite know what to make of it, or of his sister-in-law's arrest. But he shrugged it away, confident that his wife's peculiar obsession with the Lupin cub would blow over soon.

'Well, dear,' he said. 'Let's have tea then and wait until he returns.'

TBC

**A/N 2**:** Gadira** got half of the Tolkien allusion right: _Sharkey _is Saruman, the wizard-turned-evil. The other one was _Little Haywood_, where Tolkien spent some time with his wife recovering from trench fever in 1916.

**3: **Next chapter: things will definitely take an unpleasant turn!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter XI**

**A/N: **A relatively short but eventful chapter...

Andromeda was showing Remus the location of Malfoy Manor on the Wizarding map of Wiltshire when the doorbell rang. To her annoyance, her first thought was that they were going to find Rodolphus Lestrange on the doorstep, and her heart missed a beat.

'No rest for the wicked,' Remus said dryly, getting up. Andromeda took a deep breath, cast an ancient Black anti-intrusion curse on the kitchen door and followed him, her wand still out.

The caller was not Lestrange. It was a squarely built man in a nondescript brown robe. 'The name'th Gumboil,' he introduced himself with a pronounced lisp. 'Hit Withard, Magical Law Enforthement.' He studied them for a moment, looking almost indifferent. 'Mrth. Tonkth ith wanted for interrogating.'

'Interrogating? About what?' Remus asked before Andromeda could reply.

'Are you her legal reprethentative, thir? Then you may tell her that we hold her under thuthpiction of theft.'

Andromeda sighed. Apparently, the Lost and Found Office hadn't taken the trouble to owl her sister, nor had Narcissa bothered to check. 'Come in, please,' she said. 'I can explain everything.'

'I'm thorry, lady,' Gumboil droned. 'I'm not making a thocial call here. You'll have to come along to the Department.'

'Listen,' Andromeda said haughtily. 'Narcissa Malfoy's wand is -'

'Oh, the wand matter hath been tholved. I'm referring to the purloining of Minithtry property.'

'What?' But she realised immediately what he meant. _Werewolf Lore_. Had Hermione messed up, smuggling it back, or forgotten it altogether? Hardly conceivable.

'Ah, don't be difficult now, lady.' Almost absent-mindedly the Hit Wizard twirled his wand. 'If you put your own little stick away and promithe to follow me willingly, I won't have to ditharm you.' He pulled out a coffee mug with two ears, sporting the word _EARMUG_ in gaily-coloured letters. 'Thith Portkey will activate thoon.'

'We didn't steal anything from the Ministry,' Remus intervened. 'You can search the house, and you'll find nothing that isn't ours. Summon whatever you think we've stolen. It won't show up.'

Now he was implicating himself along with her - endearing, but totally unnecessary. She was fully capable of dealing with this. Gumboil had come alone, so she wasn't considered a dangerous criminal. Of course not; that would be ridiculous. The best thing to do would be to come willingly. At the Ministry, they'd sort things out in no time.

Gumboil blinked and shook his head, as if to get rid of an obnoxious fly. 'Uh, how do I know you didn't tranthform it into thomething elthe?' he asked, sounding a bit sheepish, and despite the situation Andromeda suddenly couldn't help wondering if anything would happen at all if this man said _Acthio. _Or_ Thtupefy. _The Killing Curse would be no problem, though._ Stop it, _she told herself.

'I'm sure hit wizards have several tricks at their disposal to find out,' Remus replied, a hint of steel in his voice.

'It's alright, Remus,' Andromeda said quickly, before he could get himself into trouble on her behalf. 'This probably won't take long.' She put her wand away. 'Just don't let...'

'... the big bad wolf in?' Remus supplied wryly.

'Portkey!' the Hit Wizard reminded them

'No, don't let _anyone_ in. Or, if it's someone familiar, ask questions to which only they know the answer. As in the war.' Not that he would remember. _And you're worse than Mad-Eye Moody_. She'd forgotten how utterly paranoid the presence of a small child in your care could render you.

Gumboil grabbed her hand and pushed it against the brightly glowing mug. 'Come now, lady, the war'th over.'

'Not for me,' she said, just before the Portkey jerked her away.

&&&

They were searching the area on their broomsticks, using a tracking spell Hermione had found in one of her many books. As she hated flying she hadn't come along, but Ginny had. Neither Ron's angry protests nor Harry's half-hearted objections had impressed her.

'Reveloco Rodolphus Lestrange!' she was crying now, moving her wand with a slow sweep through the air to cover the terrain below and ahead of her. But the orange glow that was supposed to flare up above the location of the target did not appear.

Flying to her right and slightly below her, Harry cast another glance at the small map of the Salisbury district attached to his broom with a Sticking Charm. The Plain was not the best of hiding places, as it offered very little cover. Most of the tree copses were found along the river Avon, but so were a number of villages. Then there was Stonehenge itself, currently crawling with Muggle tourists and to be avoided until well after closing time, as Hermione had warned them. Not that it offered much cover either.

The best chances were a dozen of miles or so to the southwest of the Henge, close to a place called Ebsbury Down, which was where they were heading now. Behind him, Harry heard Ron cast another Reveloco, again without result. He veered off to the left, passing underneath Ginny. Looking up he caught a glimpse of her beautifully concentrated face. A spark of late-afternoon sunlight set her windswept hair ablaze, and Harry flared up from his toes to his hair roots.

'Hi!' he shouted, exultant and exhilarated, waving his wand.

'Hey! You're interfering with my spell!' Ginny cried. 'Reveloco Rodolphus Lestrange!'

Harry smiled indulgently, moved out of her range and cast a tracking spell of his own. Nothing.

After about an hour of fruitless searching, Ron caught up with him. 'I've been doing some thinking,' he cried at Harry over the rushing sound of the wind. 'We can't search all of Wiltshire this way. Not to criticise Hermione, but the range of that spell isn't wide enough; I think it'll only work if you know where approximately your target is. Why don't we return to the Aurors and ask if we can join them? After all, they're also hunting Lestrange.'

'I doubt Robards will be sympathetic to such a request after we ran away last time,' Harry shouted back. Even famous Harry Potter's credit with the Wizarding World would not be unlimited.

Ron muttered something that could have been '_I_ didn't want to leave,' but when he raised his voice again it was to say: 'Then we'll narrow down our search to the most likely places. Where would you go if you were Rodolphus?'

'To hell!' Ginny joined them, swerving to Harry's other side.

'Hell's not in Wiltshire,' he pointed out with a grin.

'Oh, I don't know,' cried Ron, suddenly sounding angry. 'Malfoy Manor came pretty close, earlier this year, and I'm sure Hermione would agree.'

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look, both suitably chastised.

Meanwhile, Ron had asked the right question. If Lestrange knew about Narcissa's role at the end of the war, Harry mused, he'd be hell-bent to find her. If not, he might try to find support with her. Both possibilities pointed into the direction of Malfoy Manor. But Ron's outburst very obviously pointed away from it.

'Okay, let's go to the Mudhole,' Harry decided. There would be plenty of time to do so before they had to return to the Burrow for dinner.

The Mudhole sat in a narrow coomb near the north-western border of the county, where the Cotswolds began. From the air it looked smaller than from the ground, the roses covering part of the front looking like blood, spattered across the stone wall. Hovering high above the garden, Harry made the sweeping wand movement that came with the spell. 'Reveloco Rodolphus Lestrange.'

'Well, at least he's not anywhere near the house,' declared Ginny after a few moments. 'Maybe we should land and tell them, to reassure them.'

'I overheard Mrs. Tonks saying she didn't fear him, so I doubt she'd be happy if we did.' Ron was staring dubiously at the pond in the back garden.

'Reveloco Andromeda Tonks!' Ginny cried. When no orange glow manifested itself, she frowned. 'Does this spell work at all? Reveloco Remus Lupin!'

'That's odd,' Harry said when this didn't yield any results either. 'Wouldn't one of them have to be at home, because of the baby?'

'Could be they went out and took him along. Reveloco Teddy Lupin. Reveloco baby!' Ron waved his wand rather wildly. Nothing happened. 'See? They took the baby along.'

'Maybe they fled,' Harry said uncertainly, though it was hard to imagine they would have done so without warning anyone. 'Or maybe you're right, Ginny, and this spell doesn't work very well.'

'Or we're doing something wrong,' muttered Ron.

After that, they really had no other choice than to land, use an Alohomora on the front door and search the entire place. It was empty of people and looked as any house would when its inhabitants have left but intend to return shortly. The note on the coffee table saying "Back soon" in neat capitals, told them that the two adults must have left separately and that the first one to leave had not known the second one was going to leave as well.

That was all, except one puzzling detail: an overturned side table in the living room.

&&&

Andromeda's last reply said it all, Remus thought, saddened to the core.

He didn't know anything about her family beyond the few things she'd told him - her upbringing in a family of Dark Wizards, poisoned with bigotry and pureblood supremacy; the love-match that had cut her off painfully from her past; the never-abating fear for her nearest and dearest during the First War; and finally, during the Second War, more fear, and torture, the murder of her husband by bigots of the kind she'd turned her back to, and finally the death of her only child by the hand of her own sister.

Little enough, but more than enough to tell him that if she were to concede that defeat, they - the shadows of her family past, the spectres of countless generations of Black Wizards with cold hearts and minds full of the mould of centuries - would have won. For her, the war could not be over. But as he foresaw that the struggle would wear her out, Remus wished with all his heart he knew how to help her prevail, wished he could somehow recover his own lost sorrows to grieve with her, instead of merely grieving for her.

Tearing his gaze from the spot where Andromeda and Gumboil had Disapparated, he re-entered the house and closed the front door. He wasn't just sad, he realised, but puzzled as well. Something about this Hit Wizard's action didn't feel right, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

A crack in the vicinity shook him out of his thoughts - the noise of a rather unsubtle Apparition. But where had it been? The kitchen, he thought, alarmed. No, it had been closer by. With Ted's wand drawn he crept to the doorway of the living room, all the while listening carefully. There was no other sound.

He leaped inside, wand raised, crying: 'Expelliarmus!'

A young man of medium height with blond hair and a pointy chin was standing behind the couch. There was no wand lying anywhere on the floor. The young man spread his empty hands, eyeing Remus with a mixture of disdain and reproach. 'I wasn't even holding a wand!' he said. 'My intentions are entirely benign.'

'I'm told well-mannered people don't Apparate directly into someone's living room,' Remus said coolly. 'You could have used the doorbell; I was actually standing right behind it. Who may you be, sir?'

'Draco Malfoy's the name. Your werecub-sitter.' He sketched a mocking bow. 'Long time no see, Professor Lupin.' He moved out from behind the couch, his right hand stretched toward Remus.

His left hand, however, was snatching up something from the window sill behind him. 'Expelli-' Remus began, but he was a split second too late. A red jet of light shot towards him. It hit him full in the head, and everything turned black.

TBC.

**A/N 2:** Thanks for reviewing!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter XII**

The Hit Wizard was behaving strangely, Andromeda thought, while Gumboil led her to the Ministry lifts. So far, he'd failed to answer her questions about the identity of the person who had reported the theft, and whether they had checked if the "purloined property" had actually disappeared. He'd merely shaken his head.

They had their lift to themselves, except for a single paper aeroplane hovering in the air above them. Where are you taking me, sir?' she demanded to know when it slowly began to rattle down instead of up toward Level Two, where the Department of Magical Law was. 'Mr. Gumboil?' She tapped him on the shoulder.

He jumped, but she'd got his attention. 'To the holding thellth, lady.'

'What?' she cried. 'You said were going to interrogate me, not lock me up!'

'I have my orderth.'

'Who gave them to you?'

'The Auror Offithe,' he replied almost absent-mindedly.

Strange. Dora had never chased thieves unless the stolen items were Dark Artefacts. The _Werewolf Lore_ book could hardly be classified as such.

Jangling and clattering the lift came to a halt. The female voice announcing the various Ministry levels declared that they had reached Level Nine and the Department of Mysteries. 'Since when does the Auror Office occupy itself with simple matters like theft? Aren't Aurors supposed to be Dark Wizard catchers?' Andromeda asked loudly over the noise

He turned toward her, frowning and blinking at the same time, his eyes looking odd. And suddenly it hit her. Could it be he was behaving so strangely because he was under the Imperius Curse, and trying to fight it? Was it beginning to wear off?

Meanwhile, the golden grille had slid open on a dimly lit corridor with bare walls and a plain black door at the end. There was no one in sight.

Andromeda remembered her daughter telling her about this place. It was somewhere in the Department of Mysteries that Bellatrix had attacked poor Dora for the first time, cursing her right into St. Mungo's. And then, without being able to pay her back in kind, she had died when her aunt struck once again in the battle of Hogwarts. The horrible injustice of it fuelled Andromeda's anger, and it rose in her like bile.

Gumboil stepped out of the lift, but when he turned around, he looked uncertain again. 'Come on, lady,' he said, gesturing vaguely towards the end of the corridor. 'The thtairway to Level Ten ith over there. We mutht go.'

Andromeda knew this was the level where the holding cells were, beyond the ancient Courtroom. But if he wanted to take her there he should have disarmed her first.

'I don't think so, Mr Gumboil!' She pulled her wand. '_Finite Incantatem_.'

&&&

When Remus regained consciousness, the quality of the light had hardly changed. He couldn't have been out for much more than an hour. A dull ache lingered behind his left temple, where the spell had hit him. He sat up abruptly and winced. There had been an intruder in the house, and he'd promised Andromeda... Alarmed, he picked up his wand and scrambled to his feet. Kicking aside the little table that was in his way he ran to the kitchen.

One step inside, he halted abruptly. The little baby rocking chair was empty.

Teddy was gone.

'NO!' he shouted after a few heartbeats of speechless horror. 'No no no no!'

Frantically he scanned the floor, just in case Teddy had managed to do involuntary magic and extricated himself from his chair. Nothing. He ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs, trying to reassure himself. Andromeda must have returned home and had somehow overlooked his unconscious form on the living room floor. Now she was upstairs, changing Teddy's nappy, putting him in bed.

The nursery was empty and deathly silent, lacking the almost imperceptible breathing of a peacefully sleeping child.

Andromeda's bedroom was empty as well, and in the picture on the nightstand, little Dora and Ted eyed him wordlessly and worriedly. Shaking, Remus sank down on her bed to try and get himself under control, to get rid of the tight, suffocating band around his chest. Maybe there were tears, too, somewhere deep inside him, but they were frozen.

He'd acted like a complete idiot to think the Malfoys meant no harm, disregarding Andromeda's repeated misgivings and warnings. She'd been right all the time and he a fool twice over for not taking her seriously. He'd failed her. He'd failed his son and his dead wife.

Something kept nagging at the back of his mind. He returned to the nursery, looking about for a clue. It seemed different. Where were the nappies? And a lot of Teddy's clothes seemed to be gone, he saw when he pulled out a couple of drawers. Only few of them were in the laundry basket. Downstairs, a cuddle toy was missing from the playpen and in the kitchen he discovered that Teddy's bottles and a full tin of baby milk powder had vanished as well. Apparently, Narcissa had provided her son with careful instructions before she sent him here.

Remus eyes fell on the map of Wizarding Wiltshire, spread out on the kitchen table. A good thing he had given in to Andromeda when she insisted on showing him where Malfoy Manor was, earlier in the afternoon.

&&&

Had she been right? Had her _Finite Incatatem_ worked? For a long moment, nothing happened, and Andromeda's heart sank. Then Gumboil's head snapped up. Looking around he asked, at once surprised and irritated: 'What am I doing down here? Why are you threatening me with your wand?'

'You were under Imperius. I lifted the curse,' Andromeda replied, hoping he would at least consider the possibility she was speaking the truth. Her left hand hovered near the button with the number eight that would take her back the Atrium, while her right kept pointing her wand at him.

Gumboil frowned, raising his own wand rather shakily. 'You put me under Imperiuth?'

She shook her head emphatically. 'It certainly wasn't me. In the lift, you told me you got your orders from the Auror Office, so maybe you should look into that direction.' A very disturbing thought.

The Hit Wizard looked suitably worried. 'You're right, lady,' he said after a silence. 'I wath under the Imperiuth Curthe. I recognithe the feeling.' He didn't lower his wand, though, adding: 'But I don't recall any of the Aurorth putting it on me.'

So he'd been Obliviated as well? It would seem logical enough: if one or more Aurors had used an Unforgivable on a Ministry colleague, they wouldn't want him to remember. But why would someone do this? Why have her brought here by a Hit Wizard on the charge of having stolen a book most Ministry people wouldn't even know existed? Andromeda's head began to swim with confusion; the walls of the corridor seemed to close in on her. The desire to disarm and then Obliviate him all over again before she left the place, just to have done with the whole affair, was almost overwhelming.

If she did though, she'd probably never find out more about it. 'Check my wand. Feed me Veritaserum, if you must. I assure you it was not me, Mr. Gumboil,' she said, and with an effort she willed her wand hand to drop to her side.

The Hit Wizard rubbed his free palm against his robe as if the situation unnerved him as much as it did her. 'Can't do that without a real warrant, can I? Would you be willing to follow me up to my offithe, lady? Tho we can try to clear thingth up?'

When she nodded, he also lowered his wand and stepped inside, as far away from her as possible. Andromeda wondered why, until it occurred to her that Gumboil might have met her late and unlamented sister, somewhere in his past.

With a sigh she pushed the button. The grille closed with a bang and the lift began its slow ascent.

&&&

'What takes him so long?' Narcissa complained when Draco hadn't returned home by cocktail time. The poor boy couldn't possibly be enjoying himself in the presence of the werewolf and her renegade sister. 'What if it was a trap? What if they've done something to him?'

'They wouldn't dare!' Lucius said, paling a little, as if he suspected she was about to send him after their son. He hadn't been half the man he used to be after Azkaban, she mused. He'd turned... well, ineffective was probably the term that came closest. She watched him rise and traipse to the liquor cabinet to pour himself a large goblet of elderberry wine. He held out the earthenware flask. 'You, my dear?'

She shook her head. 'They're very well capable of acting first and thinking later. That is to say, the Gryffindor werewolf is, and Meda's obviously besotted with him.' The indecency of it made her shudder, though it could be a case of the nerves. She crossed to the fireplace. 'Let's make a call.' Lifting the jar of Floo powder from the mantelpiece, she turned back to Lucius. 'Here.'

'You do it,' he said, without looking at her. 'You're better at saving Draco than I am.' And his Floo calls were considered potentially suspicious, of course.

'All right!' Narcissa grabbed a handful of powder. 'The Mudhole!' _Ludicrous name._ Kneeling, she stuck her head inside the bright green flames and had a view of Andromeda's living room with its old furniture. From close by, the rug looked horribly shabby. At the edge of her vision, a little table lay on its side, its stiff legs outstretched like those of a carcass. On the coffee table was a piece of parchment, as if someone had left a message there. Neither her sister nor the werewolf was in the room.

'Draco!' she cried. 'Meda!' And then, overcoming her revulsion: 'Lupin!' Nothing. She repeated her son's name, and her sister's, but no footsteps broke the silence. After about half a minute, she withdrew her head and got up. 'Nobody. What could have happened?'

Lucius put down his goblet, looking sincerely troubled now. 'I have no idea. Couldn't you get in?'

Narcissa shook her head. 'Useless. There's no one there.'

At that point, a loud crack announced the presence of the house-elf, Wishy. It stood before Lucius's chair and said shyly. 'Master, there's a Remus Lupin standing at the front gate. Must he be let inside?'

Lucius's hand shot forwards and connected with the elf's face; it swayed on its feet but didn't fall. 'Not in a million years!' he snapped. 'Having had to tolerate one werewolf at the Manor was quite enough. I'll talk to it at the gate.' He leaped up, and the next moment, with a civilised pop, he was gone.

'Wishy is very sorry. She will have to punish herself,' the house-elf complained with a downcast face. 'But how was she to know it was a werewolf?'

_I must talk to Lucius about his attitude towards the House-elves_, Narcissa thought. It had led to betrayal in the past. He ought to be wiser now. 'You've got nothing to be sorry for,' she told the elf. 'No punishment. You can leave now, Wishy.'

'Thank you, Mistress!' Wishy Disapparated. So did Narcissa. Materialising at Lucius's side inside the gates, she observed the offensive caller. This time, the werewolf was properly dressed, but that was about the only improvement. It also had a wand now. She smiled. The gates of Malfoy Manor were impenetrable from the outside.

'Draco, abducting your son?' she heard Lucius say haughtily, pointing his own wand at the werewolf's chest. 'How dare you! Rather tell us what you've done to our son, Lupin! He should have been back long since. My wife is worried out of her mind!'

_And you're not?_ Narcissa thought.

Apparently, the beast was not impressed by her husband's wand, but his words gave it pause. 'I know that my son was abducted, as he can't very well have left on his own,' it said at last, looking deeply troubled. 'You say that yours is missing as well. I saw him in our house, a couple of hours ago, so unless he decided to go by foot -'

'Draco?' Lucius interrupted Lupin. 'Don't make me laugh!'

' - he's had plenty of time to return home,' Lupin went on without missing a beat. 'That he didn't, could mean two things. One: he's looking for a place to hide Teddy.' Lucius started to protest, but the werewolf raised a hand to stall him 'Two: something's happened to both of them.'

Despite her low opinion of the beast, Narcissa couldn't help thinking that it did seem to have the capacity to make people listen. She wondered if it was using a spell. The werewolf's pale, worried face approached the gate now, and she caught a glimpse of teeth when it asked: 'Do you know that Rodolphus Lestrange has been sighted in Wiltshire, near Salisbury Plain?'

'What?' she shouted, feeling the blood in her veins freeze.

'Calm down!' Lucius said, raising his voice as well. 'He won't -'

The story of how she'd turned against the Dark Lord had been in the Prophet _and_ the Quibbler - she'd personally approached Skeeter, while Lovegood had Owled her after a long conversation with Potter. If Rod Lestrange, who could be as vindictive as they came, had read either of those interviews...

'Calm down?' Narcissa shrieked. 'Lucius, you don't know what you're talking about!' She wheeled towards her husband. 'Let Lupin in. Now.'

TBC

**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter XIII**

The wrought-iron gates opened slowly; the face into which the iron had twisted itself to ask him to state his purpose had vanished. Into the lion's den, Remus thought. Except that Harry had told him lions belonged to Gryffindor and these people were Slytherins. Well then. If it was true what they said of Slytherins, the Malfoys had to be calculating enough to see the need of cooperation in case of a common emergency - and he _had_ a working wand now.

He took the risk and stepped inside. A wistful cry made him look up, and he saw a magnificent white peacock gaze down at him from one of the hedges flanking the gravelled drive. Preceded and followed by a Malfoy - they took no risks with him - he crunched toward a stately manor house with diamond-paned windows. Stone steps led up to an ornate door, but before they could usher him inside, he caught a flicker of silver from the corner of his eye.

All three of them turned to look at it. A silvery shape, vaguely bear-like in appearance, lumbered towards them along the graveld drive without making a sound. Halting at the foot of the steps, it opened its jaws and spoke in a growling, unpleasant voice:

'I've got the pup. But it's the bitch I want. Let her come to me at the Slaughter Stone of Stonehenge, tomorrow at midnight, and I shall release the pup. If she fails to come, he is dead. No publicity, and do not bring the Law: I shall know it, and you will regret it.'

For a moment or two, the bear-like shape lingered on the spot. Then it turned around and lumbered away, dissolving as it did so.

Remus heard a sharp intake of breath - his own, he realised; while the Patronus spoke he'd forgotten to breathe.

'That was... a blood-sucking bugbear...' In the sunlight slanting across the stone steps, Malfoy's face was ghastly pale. 'Rod Lestrange's Patronus...' He turned to his wife, who had collapsed on the topmost step. Uncertainly, as if hoping she would gainsay him, he said: 'It was his, wasn't it, Narcissa?'

'He's got Draco,' Narcissa whispered, barely audible to Remus. She began to rock back and forth, and her voice rose and became shrill. 'He's got Draco. And I thought it was all over. He's got Draco!'

Had he? What if the pup was Teddy, and Andromeda the bitch? Remus really didn't want to consider the possibility. It seemed remote - would a man like Rodolphus Lestrange think of taking along baby things together with the baby? - and it would make everything so much worse. Yet he had to consider it.

'Or Teddy,' he said with a catch in his throat.

Narcissa's head jerked up. 'Your pup's bitch is safely dead!' she spat at him.

Remus would have loved to strangle her. He took a step in her direction. 'But your sister is alive.'

Malfoy's wand poked into his chest. 'Stay away from my wife, werewolf!'

Shoving the wand aside and struggling to regain his composure Remus said: 'All right. Listen to me. I admit that your son most likely didn't abduct mine. So I apologise for accusing him - though I still don't understand what he was doing in our house and why he stunned me. Meanwhile, we don't know what... pup Lestrange was referring to. It seems to me that it's in our common interest to try and save the one got in his power.' But he wasn't looking forward to form a team with these two, though, not if they kept up that tone.

Malfoy drew back, his wand no longer pointing at Remus's chest. He appeared to be thinking.

'It's Draco,' Narcissa insisted, apparently determined to fear the worst. 'Rod sent his Patronus here, didn't he?'

'Or he sent it to the person he wanted to receive the message,' Remus said.

'Lupin's got a point, dear. We'd better cooperate,' Malfoy said with a calculating look that told Remus he was being cast in the part of the expendable guy who took all the risks. And should it turn out that the child Lestrange had captured was Teddy, they'd desert him in no time. They were probably thinking the same thing of him.

Narcissa rose. 'If Rod so much as touches a hair on Draco's head, I'll obliterate him. 'If necessary, I'll raze Stonehenge itself to the ground. Even if it's the last thing I do.'

It was obvious that she meant it. Remarkable family, the Blacks. Only a handful had not been Dark Wizards and those who were, had done terrible things and held horrible beliefs throughout he ages. But having heard what the Blacks of his generation had done in the war against Voldemort and seeing Narcissa now, Remus realised that once they were resolved to act, none of them lacked a spine.

'Let's devise a plan, then,' Lucius said briskly, trying to take the lead. He waved at the front door with his wand and it opened onto a large hall with a carpeted floor 'Come inside.'

'Not yet. Andromeda has a right to know about this, and to have her say.' _Even though there's no one I'm less eager to see right now._

Narcissa made a strange sound. 'While I was at the Ministry this morning, I happened to hear they were planning to arrest her.'

'I know she was invited to the Ministry to answer a few questions,' Remus said with a slight frown. 'To my best knowledge that is not the same as being arrested. It's probably all a misunderstanding. I expect she has returned by now.' Or maybe they'd put her into a holding cell and planned to keep her there until he'd managed to find Teddy back. _Lovely idea, Remus Lupin. Has your moral compass always been off, or only since your death and resurrection?_

Narcissa wrinkled her nose as if she was smelling something foul. Lucius shrugged.

'I'll be back in about an hour,' Remus said, and he started to walk down the drive to retrieve Dora's old broomstick from the bramble bush where he'd hidden it, just outside the gate. All the while, he was thinking furiously. If Lestrange had Teddy, there had to be a way to save the baby without fulfilling the demands of a murderer: Andromeda must stay out of danger. If Lestrange had Draco, which seemed more likely... well, Draco had a right to be saved as well.

But in that case, where could Teddy be?

&&&

Harry had to swear to Ron and Ginny he wouldn't go and search for Rodolphus Lestrange on his own, or else they'd have refused to leave for the Burrow, where dinner would be ready soon. It was not that he lacked appetite, but he wanted to know what had happened. He just couldn't leave until he did.

His lonely wait lasted all of five minutes. On the sound of the front door being opened, Harry stepped out into the corridor and saw a worn and grim looking Remus Lupin enter the house with a broomstick in his hand.

'Harry,' he said immediately. 'Is Andromeda back yet?'

'Haven't seen her, no.' Harry was alarmed at Lupin's expression. 'What's wrong?'

'Teddy's been abducted. Possibly by Rodolphus Lestrange.'

'What?' exploded Harry.

After he'd heard the whole story, he felt a surge of angry determination rush through his veins. 'We're going to free him! Or Draco,' he added as an afterthought. 'Though I would like to know what the heck he was doing here if he wasn't the abductor.'

'So do I.' Lupin sighed. 'Harry, I'm not sure the Malfoys will appreciate it when I bring you into the picture. Even if you're not the Law - or not yet, I should add.'

'Actually, I think it's best if the Malfoys aren't involved in any rescue plans. They'll probably only be in the way,' Harry declared.

Lupin frowned, as if he saw a problem coming up, but all he said was: 'Well, whatever the Malfoys' role will be, Andromeda stays out of it in any case. I'm not going to tell her what exactly it is Lestrange wants. And neither will you.'

And there it was. It had been bothering him for days, and now they'd stumbled on the subject. Though Harry knew the world didn't revolve around him, he couldn't help feeling as though circumstances, by becoming as horrifying as they had, conspired to make him stare the question squarely in the face.

'You mean, you don't want her to sacrifice herself for her grandson?' he asked quietly. 'And if I don't want _you_ to put yourself at risk for him again?'

Lupin stared down at his white-knuckled hands. They seemed to be leading a life of their own, the laced fingers squeezing and torturing each other, fighting as if they were mortal enemies. 'So you came up with an answer then?'

They both knew what he was referring to. 'I have,' Harry said. 'You asked what your son would think of parents who died to make a better world for him. What you don't know, because you don't remember, and neither I nor Ron or Hermione told you, is that we two had a big row about parents leaving their kids last year. You...' He hesitated, realising he'd stopped looking at Lupin in his turn. Swallowing, he went on: 'You'd run away from your pregnant wife because you thought she and the child were better off without a werewolf husband and father. I said you should stick with your kid. We... it ran out of hand. You got angry and left. Later things were okay again. But we never really talked it out.'

'So I used to be a coward - just as I feared,' Lupin said, sounding dejected. 'I'd say that you were absolutely right - and my previous self must have thought the same, or you wouldn't be Teddy's godfather now.' Harry heard him shift in his chair. 'You're an orphan, I'm told, and orphans are likely to have issues with parents who leave their children, aren't they?' His voice became more resolute. ' But it doesn't make sense to blame yourself for the fact that I went to fight in the battle.'

'It does,' Harry protested. 'I said parents belong with their kids, and I let you fight all the same. And worse, I let Tonks fight, while she should have been with her baby!'

'She chose to come, whatever you or anyone else may think of it. So did I.'

Why was Lupin reacting like this now, as if he hadn't raised all those doubts in the first place? Or no, Harry thought. The doubts had already been there; Lupin had only brought them to the surface. 'Arthur and Molly stuck with their kids in the first Voldemort war; they didn't join the Order then. You should have remained home. I should have Imperiused both of you and sent you straight back!' he cried, looking up, to discover Lupin had done the same. They were staring straight at each other now.

'I'm glad you didn't stoop to that.' Lupin's gaze did not waver.

'So you prefer me to spout bits of personal wisdom without sticking to them?' Harry said defensively.

Lupin's smile was extremely sad. 'When I asked my question, I'd just heard the story about the German werewolf called back to life to make redress for his wrongdoings. It made me wonder: was I called back somehow to be a true father to Teddy? Had I failed my son by getting myself killed? What difference did my presence in the battle make - wasn't I just one wand among many?'

He paused for a moment. 'And now someone has abducted my son, his life could be in danger, and suddenly the question becomes painfully and frighteningly acute.. Am I prepared to go down fighting for my son once again? And the answer is simple. Yes, I am. It's the only choice possible. You shouldn't try to prevent me. You shouldn't even want to.'

As he said it, Harry suddenly had a strong sense of Déjà vu. This was Lupin, his old Hogwarts professor talking again, the man he had admired like few others, before the war and his own insecurities had got the better of him. The feeling made him strangely happy, despite the argument they were having.

Lupin pulled his fingers apart and spread his palms. 'Harry, I'm sorry if I upset you and created confusion by asking the question to you. It wasn't rhetorical, you see.'

'You really didn't know the answer,' Harry said in sudden wonderment. 'You thought: here's an orphan boy, his parents died for him, he should know.' He laughed. 'Remus, hex me all over if I ever show signs of blaming them again, whether I'm begin rational or not. But.'

'You don't seem to need any more hexing,' Lupin said. 'But what?'

'Do you have the right to make this decision for Andromeda, Remus?'

Suddenly, Lupin looked a little flustered. 'Maybe not. But there's no way I'm going to let her endanger herself.'

_I hear you_, Harry thought, _and I don't think you're being very consistent now_. But he knew all about feeling protective, and he kept his mouth shut.

&&&

Gumboil's office bore the number 919, though it was on the Second Level of the Ministry. Normally Andromeda would have been curious enough to ask him why, but the situation was a little too serious for small talk. She took the seat he offered her, refused his tea because he used bags, and accepted the apologies he thought he owed her. After all, if he thought he had been at fault somehow, or even if he was merely embarrassed at having been made a fool of, it put her at an advantage. She was enough of a Slytherin to appreciate this.

'So you don't recall anyone casting Imperius on you, Mr. Gumboil?' she asked when he didn't seem to know where to start.

He shook his head and rubbed his palms on his robes, visibly annoyed. 'They mutht have Obliviated me ath well,' he stated superfluously.

'Who was the last person you remember seeing here at the Ministry before you left for my house?'

'Now that I do know!' he said. 'As it happenth, it was Mrth. Malfoy.'

'My sister!' And what had Narcissa been doing at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement? Could she be the one who had put Gumboil under Imperius? 'Did she come to see you at your office? What did she want?'

He nodded, frowning, apparently thinking hard. 'Ah. I remember! The Auror Offithe thent her on to me. I alwayth get to deal with catheth like that... There wath a letter... ' He rummaged in a desk drawer and came up with a piece of parchment. 'It came in a couple of dayth ago. Mrth. Malfoy wanted to know if the Minithtry was going to act on it.'

Andromeda held out a hand but Gumboil hesitated. 'Lady, I can't allow third parties to peruse the content of thith letter, and -'

'Mr. Gumboil, I _can_ be discreet - provided I see the need to,' she waved his objection away.

Would he understand? Not that she considered to bring charges against him. Yet. But how could he know what the sister of Bellatrix Black would or would not do?

Without another word, he handed the letter to her.

Andromeda launched herself from her chair before she'd properly finished it. 'Who the blazes does Narcissa Malfoy think she is?' she shouted. 'Oh yes, one of the remaining Black sisters is of unsound mind, but it's _not_ me! The man she wants divested of parental authority is a hero of the war, for Merlin's sake, not just any werewolf!'

'Dear lady, pleathe, sit down,' Gumboil said, his tone suddenly remarkably firm, as if he remembered that barking dogs don't bite. 'The matter of your, er, temporary arretht hath nothing to do with the letter. You wanted to know why Mrth Malfoy came; well, the anthwer ith in there. I told her you were under invethtigation. The real reahton why wath none of her conthern.'

_The stolen book_. She'd almost forgotten. Andromeda sat down again. 'But then who used Imperio to send you to my house and order you to lock me up somewhere in the bowels of the Ministry?'

He uttered an exasperated sigh. 'That ith ecthatctly what I don't recall. All I know ith that someone ordered me to do so.'

'With a missing book as a pretext?'

'But the book'th really gone,' Gumboil said. The unknown Unforgivable-cathter told me to go to the Archive to thee it for mythelf, and I did.'

So Hermione hadn't returned it yet. _I'll make sure she knows she got me into trouble_, Andromeda said to herself. It could wait, though. Something else couldn't. Again, she got up. 'Mr. Gumboil, I need to speak to Aurors Savage and Green. Would you be so kind to tell me where I can find them?'

The Hit Wizard gave her a shrewd look. At last he said: 'Actually I'm not allowed to let you roam about on your own here, lady.' A pale blue memo zoomed into his office and fluttered down to his desk; he put it aside absent-mindedly.

'Oh, but I won't mention you, of course,' she said. 'At times, I am a little... oblivious of who is who in such a large establishment as the Ministry.'

Gumboil pulled a face. 'The Aurorth are probably out - Dark Withard hunting and all that. But you can try. Will you leave dithcreetly when you're done? I don't think you'll have trouble getting out, ath the only magic you performed here wath an innothent Finite.'

'Why did you let me keep my wand, actually?'

'I wath told to ditharm you if you didn't come along willingly, but you did. Maybe the person who Imperiused me thought you'd put up more, eh, rethithanthe?''

Andromeda smiled at his heroic attempt to say the impossible word.

She did not smile after she'd paid a visit to the Auror's cubicles, though.

TBC

**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing! This story is rapidly developing into some kind of whodunit... but it won't stop there.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter XIV**

Flooing into the vast hall with its rows of fireplaces, its polished, dark floor and its peacock blue ceiling with the strange, moving symbols, Remus realised that he recognised it, though he knew he hadn't been here since the end of the war. His surprise was soon overshadowed by the realisation that he didn't have the faintest idea when in his inaccessible past he'd visited the Ministry, or how often, or why.

The soft whoosh in the fireplace behind him indicated the arrival of Harry, who had come along to show him the way and if necessary, flaunt his status as Voldemort-vanquisher. Remus turned around. 'I know I've been here before.'

'Yeah, well,' said Harry, brushing off his robes. 'The Werewolf Registry's here, you know.' He looked apologising.

'Oh.' Remus felt deflated, especially as Harry's tone told him that memories of the Werewolf Registry were highly forgettable.

'The Hit Wizard Office is on Level Two,' Harry told him. 'But first we'll have to pass security.' He gestured at a set of golden gates gleaming in the distance and went ahead.

Several of the wizards and witches present in the hall turned their heads and started to whisper when he passed; one witch roughly pulled back a companion about to step into the green flames of one of the fireplaces to point out the hero, and a gangly young wizard took out a notebook and a quill and tried to intercept Harry.

'Some other time,' Harry said, just before he veered off to a desk on their left with a sign saying Security.

A moment later, Andromeda emerged from the gates, alone, and looking outraged. 'Harry!' Remus said, not knowing if the young man heard him. 'No need to check in. She's here.'

She spotted him almost immediately and hurried towards him. Remus braced himself; he'd have to tell her now. He looked around rather wildly for some kind of seat, fearing she would need it, but there was nothing of the kind to be seen.

'Remus,' she said, halting before him. 'Don't look so pained, I'm free to go. But I've got a great deal to tell you and some of it is...' She fell silent and her expression turned from angry to scared. 'Remus, what happened? Her voice went up. 'You didn't leave Teddy alone, did you?'

'Andromeda,' he said, vainly trying to remain in control of his voice, 'I'm sorry but I can't think of a less shocking way to tell you the bad news. Teddy's been abducted. And it's my fault, because I wasn't alert enough. I failed you both.'

Andromeda paled, staring at him with slightly parted lips for what seemed an eternity. Abruptly, she swayed on her feet and he had to move in and put a arm around her, pressing her against him to keep her upright.

'Well, well,' a female voice intoned eagerly to their right. A bright flash momentarily blinded him. 'The brave werewolf,' the voice went on, 'and his new love, who also happens to be his own mother-in-law. How touching. How absolutely delightful.'

Regaining his sight, Remus caught a glimpse of a female head with prefect blond curls and a paunchy man with a camera emitting purple smoke. They ducked away behind a group of curious onlookers before he had the chance to take a second look at them.

'Skeeter, damn it!' Harry's voice bellowed somewhere close by. 'Bozo! Stay where you are!'

Two telltale Disapparition pops indicated that neither Skeeter nor Bozo felt obliged to heed the command.

'Teddy,' whispered Andromeda brokenly, clutching Remus's robe with her left hand. 'My little Teddy.'

Remus wanted to howl. He felt her fist impact painfully with his chest, once, twice and again, but he didn't even try to stop her.

'We must leave. Let's go back,' said Harry, emerging inside the circle of spectators, his glasses slightly askew. 'Please, step aside, people.'

Remus began to pull a rigid, unyielding Andromeda away through the gap created by Harry's request. 'Please, come, Andromeda.' She could always go on hitting him at home. He almost hoped she would.

She said nothing, but after a few moments she allowed him to guide her to a fireplace, and with the murmuring of a growing crowd in their ears, they Flooed to an empty home.

&&&

Back home she beat him again, and again he didn't resist. If only her throat wasn't blocked, so she could cry or shout, but her fists were all she had now. A voice, coming from afar, told her that it wasn't Remus's fault, that she ought to calm down, that this would achieve nothing. But why should she care if she was going insane anyway?

'You're not going insane, Andromeda.' Had she said it aloud? 'We'll get him back.' A hand closed around her right wrist, pulling it away. 'Harry, a glass of water.' Then Remus sat her down on the couch, seating himself beside her. She didn't have the strength to push him away. When the water came his hand guided the glass to her mouth. Unsteadily she took a sip, and another one; some of the water ran down her chin and along her neck and onto her chest.

'Cold!' she said, glaring at him. Her vision was playing tricks on her, for he seemed to be at least eighty years old.

'Yes,' he replied quietly. 'To the bone.'

Andromeda shivered. 'You don't have the right,' she spat. You tried to run away from him before he was born, and now you failed him again. You don't have the right to share my suffering!'

'Mrs. Tonks, this wasn't Remus's fault.' Harry looked embarrassed. 'He was tricked.'

'You don't have to defend me, Harry,' said Remus, sounding weary. 'She's right.'

'Tell me what happened.'

He told her, and she realised Harry was right, and even though she didn't feel too sorry for beating Remus, her sense of betrayal abated. His account left her utterly confused, though.

'But, Remus, you say it was Draco you saw,' she complained. 'Then how can Lestrange be the abductor? And if it was him, what was Draco doing here? If Narcissa did send him to take Teddy, it could explain why all the baby things are missing, but in that case, surely you'd have been Obliviated afterwards? On the other hand, I can't possibly believe Lestrange would have taken the nappies.'

Harry, who had remained standing, shifted from one foot to another. The look that he and Remus exchanged didn't escape her. 'Suppose Draco took Teddy,' he said, 'and Lestrange somehow found them and abducted both of them?'

'The bugbear-Patronus said pup and... Singular,' Remus objected.

A banshee must have swapped voices with her, for Andromeda heard herself emit a piercing wail. 'What if Lestrange came upon both boys but only wanted Draco? What if he abandoned Teddy under some bush, together with the bottle and the milk and the nappies, and...and... he'll starve or die of exposure, or some animal will find him...'

Remus pulled her against him; she could feel his tension through several layers of cloth. 'Please, don't, Andromeda. Please.' He started rubbing her back in small circles and for some reason she was unable to push him away. 'Let's not believe the worst until we have to. Draco Apparated here, so he must have Apparated back home as well. Lestrange can't have stumbled on them anywhere.'

'What if it wasn't Draco, but Rodolphus Lestrange who came here?' Harry suggested, no doubt trying to be helpful, though this didn't help at all. 'He could have used Polyjuice to disguise himself as Draco.'

_Polyjuice_, Andromeda thought. It reminded her of something. If only she'd be capable of thinking coherently. She was beginning to feel a little warmer, with Remus's arm around her. _Concentrate, Dromeda_, she could hear Ted's seventh year student's voice urge from out of the blue. _You'll get loads of NEWTS with a little more concentration._

'But where would Lestrange find Polyjuice, being a wanted Death-Eater on the run?' Remus asked.

Scowling, Harry flopped onto a chair. 'I don't know. I've got a feeling we're not going to solve this riddle without Hermione's help,' he muttered dejectedly.

_Do me a favour. Not Hermione_. 'I think it was a ruse,' Andromeda said.

'Huh?' Remus and Harry said simultaneously.

She rubbed her forehead, trying hard to concentrate, though a myriad of images kept intruding on her thoughts. Images of Teddy, sleeping, playing with his tiny toes, smiling his toothless baby smile; of sweet Dora, young and old, alive and dead, with brown hair and pink; of Ted, kind and solid and reliable, kissing her goodbye, never to return.

'Getting me away was a ruse,' she explained at last. 'The person who wanted to abduct Teddy put Gumboil under Imperio to get me out of here, because it's much easier to take one person by surprise than two. It had nothing to do with _Werewolf Lore_. They know perfectly well where it is. At least, Savage does. I found it in his cubicle.'

'Hang on,' Harry said. 'Are you suggesting Savage was in cahoots with _Draco Malfoy_, Mrs. Tonks?'

The way he put it, it didn't make much sense. 'I don't know,' she admitted. 'Maybe it wasn't Draco, but Savage himself, Polyjuiced as Draco. All Aurors have got boxes with hairs in their drawers to make Polyjuice, in case they need to disguise themselves. Dora told me so once, though she never needed it, of course.'

She felt Remus tense up again. 'Savage,' he murmured. 'He doubted a werewolf would make a good father. But why use unlawful means? Why abduct Teddy?'

'And why would he have Draco's hairs in a desk drawer?' said Harry.

_Because Narcissa wants the baby and hired Savage to abduct him?_ But in that case disguising as Draco would be ridiculous, as it pointed directly to Malfoy Manor. Narcissa could just as well have put a full-page ad in the Daily Prophet. There had to be a better explanation. _Why can't I think straight?_

'Maybe someone paid him to do it,' she said lamely. Or maybe it was wishful thinking on her part: someone willing to spend money on the abduction of a baby was hardly going to harm him. And someone with enough galleons to spare couldn't be Rodolphus Lestrange, the fugitive from the Law. Or could he? 'Maybe Savage and Lestrange are old friends?'

To her dismay, Remus stared at her with a concerned look on his face. 'Andromeda,' he began hesitantly, 'perhaps you should take a dose of that Draught of Peace you've got in the kitchen and lie down. You don't look too well.'

'I've got no time to sleep,' she snapped.

'We've got more than twenty-four hours. We'll think of a rescue plan.' Harry looked as if he'd something in mind already.

Andromeda got up. Remus's arm fell away, and immediately she felt cold again. 'All right then. I'll take some of the potion.' Still trembling on her feet, she left the room.

She didn't go straight to the kitchen, though. Normally, Remus, would have offered to get the potion for her, but apparently, he wanted to talk to Harry in private. Carefully, she put her ear to the door.

'... haven't told her about Lestrange's demand.' That was Harry.

Remus's voice was softer and barely audible, but all the same she caught part of his reply. '... glad you didn't mentiontell... protect... state she's in...'

So she'd been right to suspect Remus had omitted something from his account. _The bugbear-Patronus said pup and..._ Andromeda leaned against the doorpost, staring down at a faded stain on the floor. What little she'd heard was more than enough. If Rodolphus had Teddy, it was _her_ he wanted. The blood-traitor who'd run away with a Muggleborn.

Once again, she heard Bella say it, in that mocking voice of hers: 'You'll never truly get away. One way or another, some day we'll get you back, Meda.'

Maybe Bella had been right. _If it means saving Teddy's life, Rodolphus can have me._

&&&

Lupin didn't return in an hour, nor in two. The Malfoys ate dinner in the kind of gloomy silence that should have been banned since the Dark Lord's fall. Narcissa, pale, drawn and tense, ate little to nothing, to the dismay of Wishy. Lucius did his best, though; it would be a shame to throw out all the delicacies the elf had put on the table, and he could use the wine right now. But nothing really tasted the way it should.

Staring glumly at the faded purple of the wallpaper where the exquisite rococo cabinet had been removed by the Knockturn Alley antiques dealer - the recolouring charm had worn off again - he said: 'I don't think the werewolf's coming back. It has probably given up on the cub and decided to settle for your sister.'

'Or it has come to the conclusion that Rod's much more likely to want me.'

'What makes you suppose so?'

'All Andromeda's ever done is marry a Mudblood. I helped bring down the Dark Lord, and I bet Rod's found out.' Narcissa shoved her plate away and glared at Lucius. 'I really don't understand how you can stuff yourself as if nothing has happened.' She got up and crossed to the Spyoculum in the wall from where those inside the house could watch the gates, wherever they were.

'And how will not eating help us to get our son back?' Lucius sighed. 'Now that Lupin has apparently deserted us, we'll have to find our own way to free Draco without giving Rod what he wants.' _But if we can't, and it'll come down to a choice between my wife and my heir, who will it be?_ He didn't have the heart to think any further.

Narcissa, who was peering into the spying device, did not reply. Lucius was about to repeat his remark when she said: 'The werewolf's back after all. It's standing at the gate.'

'Alone?' he asked.

'Quite so.'

The Tonks woman hadn't come, then. 'Then I suppose we're letting it in, won't we?'

'Good evening, Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy,' Lupin said, stepping inside the dining room a short while later. 'My apologies for the delay. Andromeda was still at the Ministry when I returned home, but she's back now.'

'So they didn't arrest her, after all?' Narcissa sounded remarkably disappointed, Lucius thought, but had she really expected the Ministry would take her letter seriously? Andromeda was mother to a "war-hero", and her werewolf was Potter's pet.

The beast produced a fake smile. 'As I said before, it was all a misunderstanding.'

'Then why didn't she come with you? It could be her grandson who needs to be saved,' Lucius said.

'She was too shocked,' Lupin replied. 'Undoubtedly, you know that Andromeda has suffered greatly by the hands of Voldemort' - Lucius winced - 'and his followers. Recovery is slow, and she needs more time. At the moment, her presence isn't required; I've only come to discuss a couple of rescue plans with you.' Pulling out a chair from under the dining table, the werewolf made to sit, as thought it had been asked to.

'Wait!' Narcissa cried. 'We need to cover the seat first.'

For a moment, Lupin looked utterly shocked, and Lucius thought the beast might bare its teeth at them. Instead, it picked up Narcissa's unused napkin and spread it on the seat of the chair with exaggerated care. Then it sat down gingerly. 'Now all you have to do, is Scourgify the napkin, Mrs. Malfoy,' it said in a neutral voice.

Lucius cast his wife a slightly reproachful glance. Scourgifying the chair itself would have been just as easy. Strange that Narcissa was affected so strongly by the beast's presence. He'd thought she knew better than to antagonise someone useful. Was it because of Greyback, who had been generally loathsome, but particularly repulsive toward women?

He turned to the present werewolf. 'So, you've come up with several rescue plans?'

'Two, actually,' Lupin replied. 'One involves the use of Polyjuice, the other involves Harry Potter.'

'What? Potter? Out of the question,' Lucius said immediately. 'The bugbear Patronus told us not to bring the Law. That includes Harry Potter, firstly because I know he intends to become an Auror, secondly because Lestrange will consider him more of a threat than half the Aurors taken together. In fact, Potter is a law unto himself. He stays out of this!'

'If you say so, sir.' Was that a hint of mockery? 'Then that leaves the Polyjuice plot.'

'Polyjuice?' Lucius and Narcissa asked simultaneously

'We'll prepare two separate batches of Polyjuice. One will contain hairs of your wife' - the werewolf nodded into Narcissa's direction; she remained rigidly still - 'the other, hairs of her sister. We demand Lestrange to prove that his captive is who he claims it is, and once he does, we'll know who he's got. The rest is simple. You'll take the Polyjuice containing your wife's hairs and deliver yourself into his hands if it's Draco, I'll take the Polyjuice containing Andromeda's hairs and do the same if it's Teddy.'

Did Polyjuice even work for non-humans like werewolves? No matter, Lucius said to himself; this plan was crazy anyway. 'I've rarely heard of such a harebrained scheme!' he said indignantly. 'Do you really believe any wizard in his right mind would fall for this? The first thing that will occur to Rod when he wonders what tricks we might use, is Polyjuice. He'll just disarm the Polyjuiced person and wait for an hour to see if it wears off! If it does, Rod won't hesitate to kill him, and maybe his captive, too! And if he falls for the trick - what will he do to the substitute, once he discovers it isn't Narcissa, or her sister?'

Narcissa was sitting rigidly upright, her face a mask.

'So let me tell you this, werewolf,' Lucius spat, 'Even if you couldn't care less what happens to your cub, I'll never risk -'

He faltered. The beast had risen, and it didn't look pleasant. 'Mr. Malfoy,' he said, 'my name is Lupin, not "werewolf". I was under the impression we had a deal, but it seems I was mistaken. Goodbye, sir.' He nodded at Narcissa. 'Goodbye, Mrs. Malfoy. If you still think you need me, you know where to find me.'

He swept out of the room before Lucius had time to recover from his shock.

(TBC)

A/N: Still like it? Drop a line...


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter XV**

**A//N: **No visit to Stonehenge yet, but expect it in the next chapter. This one holds a Clue.

Somewhere inside Malfoy Manor, a door slammed. Narcissa caught up with him just outside the front door. The sun hung large and low in the west and streaks of red across the pale blue sky predicted another lovely day.

'Mr. Lupin,' Narcissa panted, 'please, don't go yet.'

Remus halted on top of the stone steps and turned around. Draco's mother did not look her best; her hair had come partly undone and a lock was dangling untidily along the side of her face. Her expression, though, was determined.

'I don't think your plan is that bad,' she told him in a low voice. 'It's worth a try. Even if Rod sees through the Polyjuice trick, he won't kill Draco. It's me he wants.' She cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Remus followed her look, but Malfoy wasn't coming.

He'd already known what the problem was before Narcissa raised her wand and with a slashing cut a couple of blond hairs from the loose strand at her cheek. Her cowardly husband was afraid what would happen to him if the plan would fail and he'd have to face Lestrange, disarmed and unmasked. If Malfoy had been honest enough to admit this back in the living room, Remus would have relented and told him more about the plan, instead of walking out. Now it came down to Narcissa. He was tempted to let her beg on her knees - but only for a moment. It would be too demeaning.

So when Narcissa held out the hairs to him he took them without hesitation, noticing how quickly she jerked back her fingers. He wondered what degree of revulsion she had to overcome to accept the thought of Dark Creature wearing her face for an hour.

'I'll take the Polyjuice,' he confirmed, 'whether it will be to disguise as you, or as your sister.'

Hardly surprising, she failed to ask him how he hoped to escape Lestrange's wrath afterwards, so he didn't tell her. A long sigh escaped her. 'If it works,' she began, 'I'll be...' A sudden frown marred her forehead. 'But will it work on werewolves, seeing as you're not-?'

_Human?_ 'I'm sure it'll work on me,' Remus replied with only slightly more confidence than he felt. 'There are books...' Of course. The world was full of books; whether they had any opinion on this particular question was a different matter.

He put away the hairs. 'Assuming you'll want to be with Draco immediately after his release - if it's him - I'll keep in touch to tell you what you have to do.'

'Uh, thank you,' Narcissa said after a few seconds, before spinning 'round and hurrying back into the house - which spared him the need to tell her she was welcome.

Hurriedly, he left the premises.

Returning home, he couldn't suppress a feeling of emptiness. Teddy's absence was a gaping hole, Andromeda was asleep in her bedroom on a dose of the peace-draught, and she didn't wake up when he checked on her. Harry had left for the Burrow to discuss things with his friends (if only Malfoy knew). They were to start preparations for the rescue operation, unless Remus would Floo to tell them the Malfoys had refused to go along with the Polyjuice scheme. As far as he was concerned, this was not the case.

He prepared dinner for himself, if vegetable soup with bread could be called dinner. Afterwards, he read up on Polyjuice in Andromeda's old potions book and hoped Narcissa wouldn't taste too bad; he practised some spell work (though Legilimens would have to wait for lack of someone to practise it on). Before he went to bed, he tiptoed absent-mindedly into the nursery to check on Teddy, only to realise with a sickening jolt that there was no baby in the cot.

Reining in the dark horses of his fear and uncertainty as best he could, Remus went to the bathroom to extricate Andromeda's hairs from her brush. A few of them were grey, and he considered discarding them, but decided against it. Then he went to bed, where he lay awake for hours, unable to think coherently for more than five seconds in a row, unrest coursing through his entire body.

In the end he must have fallen asleep, though.

He dreamed he was in the Forest again with James, Lily and Sirius, walking towards the Stone that summoned them. But this time Harry completely ignored his presence, though he did speak to the others. Remus, not very happy about this, tried to catch Harry's attention, but when he thought he'd succeeded at last and Harry turned to face him it was a much older man, big, rangy, with matted hair, whiskers and long, yellowing nails on his fingers. Seeing Remus, the man bared a set of pointed, bloodstained teeth in a ghastly grin.

'I'm going to bite you, boy,' he announced. 'Your father asked for it.'

The woods around them turned a nasty shade of reddish brown, while the man began to sprout fur. In the distance, someone Remus knew to be his father shouted: 'No, Greyback, stop! Stop him!' A jet of green light shot towards the furry monster. It missed him narrowly. Shaking with dread, Remus ran, but though he ran like possessed, his short legs failed to carry him from the spot.. He could feel the animal's breath against the back of his neck and wanted to scream, but his voice was hoarse.

Just when he thought the monster would sink its teeth in his shoulder, Remus woke.

He sat up, covered in sweat, his mouth tasting like mould. When he raised a hand to his left shoulder, it was smooth, as it had been yesterday and the day before and all the days he could remember.

The chaotic images left him deeply uneasy. Was this the memory of that time he had received the werewolf bite, long ago in his previous life? Was that why it had stopped before the teeth had clamped down on him?

A sound from the kitchen below told him Andromeda was up. I should get up, too, he thought, but his limbs, still heavy with sleep, had other ideas, and he drifted to sleep again.

When he woke up next time in broad daylight it was because Andromeda had entered his bedroom. She held a mug of steaming tea in one hand and the Daily Prophet in the other. 'Morning, Remus.' Her mouth stretched into a thin line. 'It wasn't a _good_ morning to begin with, and now look at this.'

He took both the Prophet and the tea, spilling some of the latter onto the former when he saw the photograph in the right bottom corner of the front page. He froze, the last wisps of his dream blown away.

The photo showed him and Andromeda in an awkward embrace, swaying a little as in a strong breeze, she with fluttering eyelids and open mouth, seeming to gasp for air like a fish, he awkwardly turning his face aside, close to hers, sporting a vacuous expression. The caption read: _Widowed war-hero and werewolf, Remus J. Lupin, and his newfound love (and former mother-in-law), war widow Andromeda L. Tonks, visiting the Ministry to report the abduction of their son, resp. grandson, little Teddy Lupin. (Text: Rita Skeeter; Photo: Bozo)_

&&&

Waving the Prophet, Niobe Green barged into the cubicle next to hers, where Savage was perusing his daily quote of letters and memos. 'We were right about them!' she announced triumphantly. 'Have a look.'

Casting a glance at the letters and notes strewn untidily across his desk, her eye fell on the name Rodolphus Lestrange. _You haven't made much headway catching your quarry yet, have you, friend? I bet Robards will assign him to someone else soon_. The Head of the Aurors had decided not to suspend them after all, but Savage's fate hung on a thinner thread than her own.

Her colleague was scanning the front page. 'What d'you...Merlin's beard!' He looked up. 'Someone abducted Little Big Eyes?'

'Seems those two have been a bit sloppy, yes. But I actually meant the relationship. I told you so, didn't I? They _are_ together.' Niobe bent over his shoulder to squint at the two figures swaying slightly in the middle of the photograph.

Savage put the Prophet down. 'I've still got my doubts about that. It rather looks as if he's supporting her - not very surprising under the circumstances.' His index finger tapped on the caption. 'So the child has disappeared... We could try and use that to move against them, or against the werewolf, at least. Criminal neglect, something like that.'

Niobe chortled, wondering if Narcissa Malfoy was paying him to further her case, or if he was spontaneously venting his anti-werewolf sentiments again.

'Or maybe,' Savage went on enthusiastically, 'he's inadvertently killed the boy during the last full moon and they're trying to cover it up now. Wouldn't be the first ones to do such a thing.'

Pointing out they'd seen the baby alive after the last full moon would make her feel too much of a wet blanket; he'd find it out for himself soon enough.

'I'll check if the disappearance of the baby was officially reported.' Niobe picked up the newspaper. 'We're talking about Skeeter, after all.'

'Why else would they have been here?' Savage said.

'How should I know?' She was about to leave when she saw the book with the silvery runes on the cover lying on his desk. 'Isn't that the book we saw at the Tonks house?'

Savage frowned. 'What? O, the book,' he replied vaguely. 'It was on my desk when I came in this morning. I bet Andromeda Tonks left it there yesterday, when she was here in the Ministry. She knew we saw it in her house and my guess would be she wanted to get rid of the incriminating evidence. I haven't got 'round to taking it back yet.'

'Hm.' Niobe looked it over; it was the same book. 'Why didn't she take it directly back to the Archive in that case?'

'Because she couldn't do so without being caught?'

Niobe shrugged noncommittally, though she didn't think Savage's reply made much sense. 'Maybe. Before I forget to ask, how's the Lestrange case coming on?' she said, just to needle him.

'He's been hanging out around Stonehenge of late.' Savage looked unperturbed, even happy, as if he smelled success at last. 'Hiding among the Muggle tourists and stealing their brass, possibly to buy food in an Amesbury supermarket. What he doesn't seem to know, is that not all visitors of the Henge are Muggles.'

'What's he looking for, except easy money?' she asked with sincere curiosity.

'You can ask him yourself, once I've caught him,' Savage replied with a grin, throwing the runes book back on his desk. 'Or maybe you'd care to come along tonight, when we'll be making our move?'

_Yes, I could arrange that_. 'Why not?'

&&&

Muttering a choice word that would have made teenage Dora scream with glee, Andromeda Vanished the remains of the third Howler from the kitchen table. They were all brimful with anti-werewolf prejudice; one of them was sent by the Montgomery family, who had lost a child to Fenrir Greyback. Though one Howler had attacked her for being a bad grandmother, and another called her a poor excuse of a widow, most of the vitriol was aimed at Remus. The second Howler had assumed he'd already bitten his son and transferred him to some werewolf hideout, to be raised with the aim of spreading the disease. Some patients at the Janus Thickey Ward of St. Mungo's actually made more sense.

Before Flooing to the Burrow to work out the details of the rescue plan with Potter & Co., Remus had made an amnesia-induced attempt to assure her that the effect of Skeeter's action couldn't be that bad. Now she could show him the scorch-marks left by the Howlers - there would be more before he returned - to prove her point. Cold comfort.

And this was only the beginning. Tomorrow, the Daily Prophet would be filled with outraged Letters to the Editor, also denouncing their utter lack of propriety and piety and decency, or questioning their ability to protect a helpless child, or both. And without being aware of it, the senders would play right into Narcissa's hands. And to think Remus was going to cooperate with the Malfoys tonight...

Yet another owl delivered the next red envelope and Andromeda prepared herself for more ranting about vile beasts and filthy half-breeds. This one, however, was aimed at her.

'_You're as insane as your murderous sister,' it yelled at her, 'and your marriage to a Mudblood was a sham. Once a Black, always a Black. I know your kind, Dark Wizards and inbred pureblood bigots. I bet you betrayed your husband to the snatchers to remain scot-free in the war and told your sister to kill your freak of a daughter, so you could finally return to the fold. What are you up to now..._'

At that point, Andromeda ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to escape the hysteric screaming, but the Howler pursued her all the way to her bedroom.

'_... breeding more cubs with your lecherous werewolf lover to fill the world with dark creatures and rule us proper wizards? Compared to you, Voldemort himself was..._'

She slammed the door shut. A second later, there was an explosion on the outside. Part of the door was blown into the room, splintered and smouldering, leaving a hole large enough for a child to climb through. Pointing her wand at the smoking pieces of wood on the floor she cast an Aguamenti to prevent a fire. The Howler was mercifully silent.

It was fortunate, Andromeda found herself thinking, that it had already delivered part of its message, or it might have blown up her entire bedroom, incendiary as it had been.

She burst into tears.

She was lying on her bed, busy devising methods to demolish Rita Skeeter and her photographer, slowly and excruciatingly, when Remus returned home. Her ears caught some shouting, followed by the creak of the stairs under his feet. Hurriedly she sat up, a moment before he knocked on the remains of the door.

'Come in,' she said, rubbing her eyes.

He stepped inside, looking anxiously from her to the scorched pieces of wood on the floor and back. Taking in her face, no doubt ruined by her tears, he said: 'Let me guess. One of those things had it in for you.'

'I tried to escape, but they tend to explode if you don't hear them out.'

'That bad?' He hesitated. 'Do you want to talk about it?'

Andromeda drew up her knees. 'It accused me of having betrayed Ted and asked Bella to kill...' She rubbed her eyes. _Not again_. 'Yours?'

'Doesn't matter.' Remus sat down on the bed and reached out to her; his hand came to rest on her shoulder. 'I'm so sorry! It's my presence in your house that's doing this to you -'

'SHUT UP!' She jerked away from his hand. 'Did you arrange for me to be born in the Black family? No? Then stop posing as a scapegoat! What did the Howler going off in the kitchen say to you? Just tell me already!'

'Only that I ought to be put down,' he replied casually. 'Yours was a great deal worse, obviously. But I meant what I said just now, Andromeda. I am causing problems for you.'

'Oh yes. Right now you're giving me a beastly headache.' She sat up on her knees and scooted towards him until their faces were less than ten inches removed. 'You listen to me, Remus Lupin. I need your presence, especially now. I want your presence. And if you have the evil courage to leave, I'll hunt you down and curse you to pieces, as it behoves a proper Black woman with a proper Black upbringing and a proper bunch of Death-Eater relatives. And I'll ask Skeeter to take a photo of it and put it on the front page of the Prophet. Full size.'

He stared at her. 'You scare me.' His lips were pressed together, and though he wasn't looking happy at all, she realised he was doing his best not to laugh. It was hysterical, really. Or rather, she was.

She giggled, a high, shrill sound. 'Yes, I'm evil. Trying to be an upstanding citizen of Wearing Britain hasn't brought me the rewards I was looking for.' Again, she laughed shrilly - and then, suddenly, she had an idea.

TBC

**A/N2**: Thanks for reading so far.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter XVI**

**A/N:** _Dear readers, just in case you didn't notice, the summary of this story has changed. As of this chapter, it mentions the Andromeda/Remus pairing I always wanted to write. That I didn't put it in the summary is because I didn't know if the characters were actually going to cooperate. Now I do. _

_Also, my heartfelt thanks go to Klose, who pointed out a huge Flint in this chapter (see her review). I've edited it by way of damage control, and I think it works now. As a Gryffindor and a Marauder, Remus must have had the nerve to carry of a little bluffing... _

Just when Andromeda seemed about to become unhinged for real, the wild glare in her eyes gave way to a thoughtful look. Slowly, Remus let his breath escape, hoping with all his heart that the worst was over no. It was a good thing he had managed to suppress his nervous laughter at her remark about Skeeter; she hadn't been joking, and it was only his unmitigated relief at her words that had caused his misplaced reaction.

She truly wanted him to stay.

'It's going to be all right,' he broke the silence. 'We'll get Teddy back. I'm probably not a werewolf anymore, and I'm going to prove it, too.' As for our so called loose morals -'

She blinked, and her gaze focused. The blotches on her face were starting to fade. 'I don't care what people blather about morals. They can stuff them where the sun doesn't shine. But let's go downstairs. Who knows how many more Howlers are lining up to explode on us. With sudden energy, she rose from the bed.

There was only one more owl carrying a red envelope and fortunately the message was short and forgettable. 'Remarkable,' Remus mused once the Howler had turned into a tiny ash heap, 'what a popular pastime it is to condemn the unknown.' He looked up. 'But Andromeda - I have been thinking about this caption. Shouldn't we do what it claims we were doing at the Ministry? Report Teddy's abduction?'

'No!' Andromeda Vanished the ashes with a flick of her wand. 'No publicity. At least, not until after we know if Lestrange has Teddy.'

He wasn't sure this was a good idea, but on the other hand, they hardly had the time to go to the Ministry today. The rescue plan concocted this morning at the Burrow involved a reconnaissance mission to the Stonehenge Visitor's Centre before closing time, among other things.

'All right,' he said reluctantly.

She swept away a few flakes her spell had missed. 'Now tell me about tonight. We'll be going to Stonehenge - and then?'

Remus shook his head. 'Andromeda, you'd better not come along. Ron and Hermione won't be coming either, even though Hermione contributed to the plan. It'll be just Harry and me. The more people, the greater the risk Lestrange will notice something. But afterwards, we'll immediately let you know how it went.'

'And what about my sister?' she asked. 'Will she stay put when her son's in danger?'

If Remus had thought he could get away with a lie, he'd have said yes, but the question was too obviously rhetorical.

'If my sister is going to be there, so shall I.' Andromeda raised a hand to forestall his objection. 'Remus. I know what it is Lestrange wants; Slytherins are good at eavesdropping, and I am one. He wants to exchange the pup for the bitch. No, I'm not done yet,' she added when he opened his mouth. 'I also know you're planning to take Polyjuice to disguise yourself as me, in case it turns out his captive is Teddy. Last night, there were lots of hairs in my brush. This morning, only a few of them were left.'

Remus dropped down on a chair, combing through his own hair with his fingers. He'd more than met his match, so much was clear.

'The interesting question,' she continued with a grim face, 'is what's going to happen if Lestrange has got my nephew, instead of my grandson. Is Lucius coming as well, to take his wife's place?'

'I doubt it,' Remus replied.

'So? Am I to assume my sister will deliver herself into Lestrange's hands - possibly to come to a sticky end?'

'Don't you think she would do such a thing to save her son?' he countered.

Andromeda sat down as well, emitting a hollow laugh. 'Maybe she would. Maybe she actually would. But somehow, I doubt she'll have to. It wouldn't surprise me if you had a few of her hairs as well.'

He could save himself the trouble to reply; she didn't wait for him to speak. 'So you'd put your life on the line for Draco. For Draco Malfoy, who'd trample you in the mud if he got a chance. Who'd agree with every Howler we got. Who got off scot-free despite being guilty, while my baby died despite being innocent!'

It was cruel. He ought to agree with her, denounce Draco, refuse to lift a finger for him and his arrogant bitch of a mother, not to mention his despicable father. But he couldn't. He'd received his own life back, randomly, and not because he was worthier than any of the others who had died in the war. He was living on borrowed time. There had to be a point to all this. 'Draco didn't kill Dora,' he replied softly. 'I'm told he didn't kill anyone, or am I misinformed?'

She said nothing.

Remus cleared his throat. 'The risk will be minimal anyway; this is where the second half of the plan kicks in.'

'You're an idiot. The worst I've ever known.' Andromeda gazed at the window as if expecting another smoking, red envelope any minute now. 'Go ahead. Take Polyjuice to turn into Narcissa, if you must. I won't stop you. But you're not going to stop me either. If it's me Lestrange wants, I'll go to him and no one else. I'm more expendable than my daughter was. I'm more expendable than you are.'

Remus was about to contradict the last statement when her raised eyebrows made him think better of it. So he settled for something she couldn't dispute: 'But I don't want anything to happen to you.'

'You've got a plan, haven't you? Tell me about it.' Her grey eyes were smouldering now. 'And make sure it'll work.'

A tapping noise broke the tension. Yet another owl, carrying yet another Howler. 'Oh dear,' Andromeda said. 'There we go again.' With elegant movements, her poise regained, she went to let it in, and at that moment she seemed truly indefeatable.

As Remus sat watching her, the terrible truth hit him like a punch in the gut.

He was in love with this woman.

Unfortunately, it was equally true that it was a doomed love, as impossible as it was badly timed. She was separated from him by a dead husband and a dead daughter who had been his wife. She was out of reach.

&&&

The old woman put her ear to the bedroom wall. Again she heard a baby crying on the other side. She hadn't known her new neighbour, who had seemed to be alone, had a child. Surely she'd have noticed if the movers had carried a cot or any other baby furniture inside, a week ago?

A visitor with a baby, then? If so, the crying was bound to be temporary. She decided to pay the new tenant a neighbourly visit if it was still there tonight. Not that she minded the noise; it was a lot better than dogs that howled because their owners left them alone all day. She was merely curious.

The old woman smiled to herself. If it was true there was a baby living in the apartment next door, an offer to baby-sit would probably be most welcome.

&&&

Clusters of stars and a waning moon played hide and seek behind the shifting clouds. Narcissa shivered in the early summer breeze, though it wasn't very cold. Apprehension, she admitted to herself. That afternoon, she and Lucius had been to the Stonehenge visitors centre disguised as Muggle tourists to visualise the spot where Lupin had told them to Apparate, half an hour before midnight. Lucius had balked at the idea of becoming a Muggle but changed his tone when she told him he was welcome to stay at home.

The first problem, Lupin had explained, was how to get inside the monument without being detected. Apparating to Stonehenge wouldn't be difficult; it was a well known landmark and easy to visualise. But the plain surrounding it offered no cover, and they had to take the possibility into account that Rodolphus had cast anti-Apparition charms on the area inside the perimeter fence the Muggles had built against vandals and ruthless souvenir hunters. So they had to pick a different point to Apparate. It had to be well outside the fence and invisible to anyone inside the Monument even if they stood on a lintel stone, yet enabling them to access the Henge itself without setting off any unseen Muggle alarms. The place that qualified best was the one between the ticket boxes and the visitor's centre.

When they Apparated into the dimly illuminated area, Narcissa ending up just outside the souvenir shop, there was no one to be seen. A few yards away, something rattled in the night wind.

'Where's Lupin?' said Lucius in a low voice.

'Oh, he'll come.' Narcissa peered at a dimly illuminated cardboard kit inviting her to create her own solstice. _Did I just say 'he'?_

'He's here,' the werewolf's hoarse voice said. Lupin approached from the direction of the car park, passing a sign that told them all to BEWARE OF PICKPOCKETS. He pointed his wand at Lucius. 'What mark did I give your son for his first Defence essay in his third year at Hogwarts?'

Lucius scowled. 'Six out of ten.'

Much as she hated it, as a security question it was quite clever, Narcissa had to admit. Marks like that were well-kept secrets within the Malfoy family.

The werewolf, who seemed to be suppressing a grin, nodded and lowered his wand. 'Correct,' he replied.

'What did I write in my letter when Draco informed me of this mark?' Lucius asked, raising his.

'That your son couldn't be expected to excel in a useless subject?'

_Strange_, Narcissa thought. Lupin almost sounded as if he didn't really remember this, as if he was bluffing, somehow. _Nonsense, of course_. She dismissed the idea.

'Indeed,' her husband replied rather emphatically.

'Please, lower your voice,' the werewolf said, without waiting for Lucius to put his wand away. 'And remember, no Lumos, nor visible or audible spells. We don't want to alert Lestrange to our presence before it's time.'

_And if he's already seen us?_ Narcissa found herself scanning the area carefully for any signs of Disillusionment. For all she knew Rod was here, listening, laughing himself silently to death. Her throat went dry. What was that sound - the shuffling of a shoe?

'We've discussed the plan earlier today,' Lupin went on softly, 'so let me just add that we'd better mention any brilliant ideas we might have to the others before we act on them.'

_How typically Gryffindor to think we would_, Narcissa thought.

'Do you want a written note?' she heard her husband ask.

Lupin didn't miss a beat. 'Did you bring your quill?'

This time, the noise Narcissa heard - a sort of huff - was definitely not caused by the wind. There was someone else here. She turned to the werewolf, who had crossed to the dark entrance of the tunnel below the road that separated the visitors centre from the Henge proper. 'Lupin. We're not alone.'

'That's right,' a soft voice said from the shadows beside the souvenir shop. Narcissa whipped out her wand. A cloaked figure stepped forward, its face a pale blot surrounded by the black of a hood, and briefly lit by a ray of moonlight.

'Meda!' hissed Narcissa, not really surprised, but nonetheless angry that her sister had given her such a bad fright. 'Why didn't you show yourself earlier?'

'I've only just arrived,' came the reply. 'I can Apparate _very_ softly.'

'I could have hexed you!' _I'd love to_.

Seeing Lupin gaze at Andromeda, Narcissa could have sworn he did not agree with her presence here. But he refrained from making comments. 'Let's get to the point.' He indicated the black tunnel mouth. 'I've checked, and this side of the tunnel is spell-free. If Lestrange put up any kind of protection, it's on the other side. Let's go.'

The four of them plunged into the darkness of the tunnel. Gingerly, Narcissa put one foot before the other on the downward ramp, praising her own decision to exchange her high heels for a pair of sturdy boots and cursing the Muggles who had saved on lamps down here, or on their maintenance. A chilly draught across her forehead alerted her to the fact that it was moist with transpiration. Listening to their footsteps, she noticed that someone's footwear was squeaking slightly, but it wasn't hers.

After what seemed an endless stretch of black, Lupin warned them for a bend in the tunnel. When she had rounded it the tunnel became lighter. Somewhere ahead, a lone lamp was flickering and the roof of the tunnel gave way to open sky; they had to be on the other side of the road now. Cautiously they ascended the ramp, and at some point she realised the squeaking had stopped.

On the wall to her left she could see vague pictures of men transporting huge blocks of stone using primitive Muggle methods. Wizards knew better, of course. After all they had built the place, all those centuries ago.

The end of the ramp was around another corner, but they halted before the bend, so as not to step into full view of anyone watching the exit from somewhere inside the Henge.

'Ten minutes to midnight,' Lupin whispered. 'I'm going to Disillusion myself now and search for protective charms at the exit.' He tapped himself with his wand and became a blur in the air. Narcissa saw it ripple away to the left.

Turning to her sister, her voice hardly more than a breath, she asked: 'Meda, did Lupin bring the base for the Polyjuice, and the hairs?'

'Why do you want to know?' was the reply. 'Has your husband suddenly grown balls? Is he going to take your place after all?'

The only thing that kept Narcissa from doing something drastic was, that it might draw unwanted attention. She enveloped herself in a haughty silence and waited. The others did the same. Finally - she didn't know how many minutes had passed, nor had she been able to focus on anything except the danger Draco was in - the werewolf reappeared.

'Lestrange did put up a few protective curses,' he said softly. 'Fortunately they weren't too intricate and I remembered how to break them; the exit is free. Now your part has come, Mr. Malfoy.'

Even in the semi-darkness, it was obvious that Lucius hated being ordered around by a werewolf. He nodded curtly and took a deep breath. As he stepped out of the tunnel, the lamp outside went out, leaving only the light of the waning moon and the few visible stars.

&&&

Savage had done his research, Niobe Green had to admit: the Muggles must have some kind of timing device, as the light illuminating Stonehenge went out at midnight. Only the lamps at the visitor's centre across the A 344 were still burning. She landed between the road and the perimeter fence surrounding the monument, outside the reach of their cold, blue sheen. It was quite dark, but during the second half of June the sky never went entirely black at this latitude and she could make out the huge, imposing shapes of the ancient stones looming on the plain. In the dark, they looked vaguely sinister.

Cautiously, Niobe started towards the fence to disable the Muggle alarm. Savage was supposed to have ended up in the Avenue, a pair of parallel ditches running from Stonehenge towards the river Avon, while the hit wizards would be moving into place at the opposite half of the circle. According to the Reveloco they had cast, Lestrange was on the site, so once they were inside the fence and Savage cast his Anti-Apparition net, he'd be trapped. After that they could use Lumos, thank Merlin. It would only be -

She halted. In the darkness, further to the west, a human voice was raised. 'Rod! Rod Lestrange,' it was shouting, enhanced and somewhat distorted by a Sonorus. 'This is Lucius Malfoy! We're here to make the exchange!'

From inside the circle of giant stones, another voice answered, this one enhanced as well. 'Is that really you?' it asked, followed by a deep, hollow rumble that could be a laugh. 'Have you come to pay the price for your son?'

What the heck was Malfoy doing here, and what was Lestrange talking about? Niobe crept a few steps forward, peering into the direction of Lestrange's voice. Not surprisingly, there was nothing to be seen.

'Where's Draco?' Lucius Malfoy demanded. 'Show him to me, so I'll know you're not bluffing.'

Niobe cursed under her breath. A hostage? That complicated matters, even if it was a former Death Eater acquitted through bribery. Had Lestrange decided to deplete the Malfoy vault a little further?

'I took him to the Slaughter Stone. He's Petrified, so he won't be able to move, though he can still hear everything.' Again the hollow laughter. 'Come and have a look, seeing as you punched a hole in my little protection charm anyway. But I warn you not to come too close.'

_The Slaughter Stone?_ If she recalled correctly, this was at the point of the circle where the Avenue started. _Your call, friend Savage_. But her colleague wouldn't be able to move in until she disabled the Muggle alarm, or they'd have yet another problem on their hands. It was annoying they couldn't use Lumos until the Anti-Apparition net was cast.

In the distance the headlights of a Muggle motorcar approached, and while it sped past the Monument along the A 344 nothing particular happened. Catching a red flash of the car's rear lights from the corner of her eye, Niobe moved forward, one hand outstretched, almost stumbling on a bump in the grass. The fence wasn't far now.

Somewhere across the circle, a wand light flared: Malfoy had decided to take the risk for his son's sake. Niobe was grateful for his admirable paternal instincts, as it was the slowly approaching glow of his Lumos that would enable her to avoid touching the fence before she saw it, thereby setting the alarms off. Right now the wand light was wobbling a little, but she guessed he was climbing the rope that surrounded the stones to prevent the Muggles from touching them, or worse.

He was drawing closer again, and Niobe inched forward towards the glow. Yes - there was the fence. The alarms were a piece of cake, just a matter of creating a minor Eckeltricity Disturbing field, something she was good at. When she tried to touch the fence, though, her hand was repelled. _Of course, silly cow!_ Lestrange's protection. Hopefully Savage would soon punch his own hole in it, further down the circle.

Niobe began to move along the fence towards the Avenue. Presently, she could see the figure of Malfoy drawing near, wearing a long dark cloak with the hood pulled up, the lower half of the face a vague blot above the glowing wand, too far away to be recognisable. In the dark, Malfoy seemed to have shrunk; he looked rather small and insignificant, Niobe thought. Rounding the outer ring of standing stones, he held his arm outstretched to increase the reach of his light.

'Watch it, Lucius! Ten yards ahead, no more!' The hollow voice seemed to come from a different direction now, so Lestrange must have moved. Damn! Where was the fellow? And where was Savage?

She watched the light creep forward, agonisingly slow, until it shone upon the rigid body of a fair-haired young man, hovering above an irregular slab of stone imbedded in the turf. The Slaughter Stone.

'Stop there!' boomed Lestrange's voice. 'Yes, there. Satisfied?'

'Oh, yes,' came the reply. 'Very much so.'

Niobe's jaw dropped in the dark. The answering voice didn't belong to Lucius Malfoy at all. It was female.

TBC

**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing!


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter XVII**

It wasn't Teddy. In her heart Andromeda had known it, but the reality still came as a shock, and for a few moments she had to force down a wail. But the small measure of relief mixed into her bitter disappointment made her decide to go on. Murderers like Rodolphus Lestrange must be brought to justice; she was in a position to help it happen. And she'd be damned if she'd let Remus take risks on behalf of Narcissa Malfoy, nee Black.

She stunned Lucius from behind when he re-entered the tunnel, hoping the red jet of light would be invisible behind her cloak. Or maybe Lestrange would think it was a rear light of the Muggle car conveniently passing by. The walk across the turf toward the Giant's Dance seemed endless, but when the distorted voice shouted his warning, she knew the moment was near. Ten steps later, her wand light shone upon the rigid form of Draco hovering above the stone with the red stains.

'Satisfied?' Lestrange wanted to know.

'Oh yes. Very much so,' she said in the voice she'd always been able to imitate so well. Raising her free hand she removed her hood to bare the hair she had dyed black with a special tincture earlier that night. 'Roddy, where are you? Show yourself to me.' Slowly she turned around. 'It's me, Bella. Don't you recognise me?' Her heart beat furiously, afraid he'd ask her a security question to which she wouldn't know the answer.

'Bella?' said his uncertain voice, reduced to its normal volume. He was a dozen steps away at most. 'Bella? Is that really you? But you were dead!'

Andromeda laughed her sister's high, cackling laugh; the hysterical note added itself of its own accord. 'Dead, me? Oh Roddy, how can you believe that a mediocre witch like Molly Weasley would ever be able to kill _me_? True, I was out for quite a while and everyone thought I was dead - including the imposter Riddle with his muddied blood. By the time they came to retrieve my body, I'd crept away, and to cover up their shame they never admitted it.' Again, she laughed. In the distance, another car roared by. 'I'm very much alive!'

This would be the moment for Lestrange to fire a security question at her, she knew.

He didn't. Instead, he asked: 'But where's Malfoy?' and her heart rate went down just a little. He still didn't show himself, but she could locate his position now, behind the nearest standing stone of the outer ring. Even if she failed to draw him out, she might be able to hold his attention long enough for Remus to find him.

'Malfoy? Oh, I stunned him, and Narcissa, too, the traitorous hussy. We can have a bit of fun with them once we're done with their son.' Andromeda had no difficulty whatsoever sounding nasty and vindictive. Regarding the Malfoys, the main difference between her and Bella was that her sister wouldn't have left it at words and wishes.

She saw the panic in Draco's eyes and she afforded herself the pleasure of relishing it, just for a moment. Pointing her wand at the young man she called: 'Come, Roddy. Let's do it together, you and I.' After a brief pause she added, trying to sound as tempting as she thought Bella might have sounded: 'If I ever neglected you in favour of the impostor, it was merely a passing blindness of my passionate soul. Come, my dearest husband.' _Forgive me, dearest Ted, wherever you are now. _

Rodolphus Lestrange stepped out from behind his stone. 'Bella,' she heard him say, his voice trembling with emotion. 'Bella, my love, I'm coming.' He started towards her, looking haunted and ragged in the light of her wand, stretching out both arms, his wand in his belt. He was well within reach.

Before she could act, two flashes of bright light shot out of the night, from slightly different directions. One was red, the other green, and both hit him in the chest. He crumpled on the spot. Andromeda couldn't help crying out.

Then, several things happened very quickly. Behind her, someone cast a Lumos, and when she turned her head she saw a familiar looking man with wildly flapping robes rush at her, brandishing his wand and shouting: 'Surrender, or I'll use violence!'

Someone else must have cast a Disarming spell, for suddenly the man flew backward, his wand sailing through the air and vanishing into the dark. The next moment, a loud voice said: 'Finite!' and Draco dropped onto the Slaughter Stone with a thud and a yelp of pain.

And finally, from the outer bank of the Henge, a man yelled at the top of his voice: 'Get her! Don't let her ethcape!'

&&&

Darting forward, Remus grabbed Andromeda's wrist. 'Run,' he hissed. 'To the tunnel!' If she stayed, they would kill her first and ask questions later, of that he was convinced. When she didn't move immediately, he gave the arm a jerk. She made a small sound; then the danger seemed to dawn on her and she moved.

As fast as possible they sprinted across the soft turf, in what he hoped was the right direction, their arms outstretched to break their fall in case they'd stumble. 'Your wand light,' Remus said, and she put it out quickly. The darkness would render their flight even more difficult, but at least this way they would be hard to find.

'Let's Disapparate,' he heard Andromeda whisper, and then 'Drat!'

'What?' said Remus. He was still concentrating, having done it only twice since he'd lost his memory.

'They cast an Anti-Apparition net!'

Drat indeed, but they had no choice than to hurry on. Remus found himself wishing she would run faster, at the same time realising he wasn't being fair.

'Beyond the outer ring!' someone cried, and Remus realised they would try to cut off their escape. Why was that damned tunnel so far away? Andromeda stumbled; he helped her regain her balance. The Ministry wizards had cast Lumos now, shining their wands ahead as they raced across the circle. One of the lights was fairly close by, and coming closer, though they were still out of its reach. The ground dipped and rose - the outer bank. Then came the Muggle rope, and as he stepped over it he felt rather than saw Andromeda tumble. She was breathing in rough gasps. 'Can't go on,' she croaked.

'Almost there,' he panted, helping her up and pulling her on. Where had the tunnel entrance gone? Ahead and off to his right was a patch of blackness, darker than the night. He dragged Andromeda towards it, one arm around her back now, and then he was carrying her, staggering, but still moving on.

The voices behind them, wondering loudly where in Merlin's name the woman had gone, did not come closer. When his feet hit concrete after what seemed endless miles, Remus knew they had made it. He carried her into the open part of the tunnel, wishing silently for an excuse to keep her in his arms a little longer. When he couldn't think of one, he set her down reluctantly. The breeze swirling through the tunnel mouth cooled his hot face.

'Are you all right?' he asked her when he'd caught his breath.

'Yes,' she managed to wheeze.

Turning around, he saw the wand lights move about in the circle, searching the area north of the outer ring of standing stones. One wizard seemed to be on the right track; he was about thirty yards from the tunnel entrance. Remus thought he recognised Gumboil, the Hit Wizard. Much further away, beyond the Slaughter Stone, Savage was bending forward to scan the grass, while yet another figure had joined him, shining a wand light on the ground to help him. And beside the Stone Remus could make out the slender figure of Draco Malfoy.

'Thanks... for carrying me... that last stretch.' Andromeda was still panting heavily. 'I was about... to lie down and die.'

'I'm sure you'd have made it anyway, just a little later.' Remus peered at the scene in the distance. Savage had found his wand and was shouting something to the searching wizards before turning to Draco. Gumboil, meanhwile, had found the path leading to the tunnel now, and his comrades were joining him.

Suddenly, Remus felt drained. 'I wish it had been Teddy.'

'We couldn't have run, in that case,' Andromeda replied in a harsh voice. She coughed. 'Where did Lucius and Narcissa go? I stunned Lucius, but I don't see him here anymore.'

'Narcissa Ennervated him. I suppose they're still out there somewhere, for they came after me when I followed you.' Remus hesitated. 'Andromeda, what you did just now...'

'- would have worked perfectly, if someone hadn't seen fit to cast an Avada Kedavra at Lestrange,' she interrupted him forcefully. 'Damn it. I wanted him arrested, not dead...'

Before his mind's eye, Remus saw the man crumple again. He was sorry it had ended like that, that Lestrange had had no change to repent. Well. At least he had died looking at the face of the woman he thought he loved.

Andromeda touched his arm. 'Remus...'

He saw it, too. The searchers had discovered the tunnel entrance. 'Time to leave,' he said. They withdrew a little further into the tunnel to Disapparate.

&&&

Harry slumped in his chair at the kitchen table of the Mudhole, across from Andromeda and Lupin. Outside, dawn was breaking, its rosy light announcing another summer day. Inside, the three of them eyed each other blearily. It was obvious that the others hadn't been to bed either, though they must have returned here hours ago, unlike Harry, who had made a detour to the Ministry.

He had stayed at the scene of the crime, hidden under his Invisibility Cloak, to watch the further unfolding of events. The Hit Wizards had removed Lestrange's body, after Malfoy had retrieved his wand from the dead man's pocket. The Aurors Savage and Green, baffled by Malfoy's presence and by all the spells out of nowhere, had taken Draco to the Ministry for debriefing, despite his demands that he be allowed to return home to his undoubtedly anxious parents.

Harry had followed them. On discovering they'd retreated to Savage's cubicle, which was open, he'd seated himself outside it, leaning against a wall. When he arrived, Malfoy was wolfing down sandwiches. He seemed ravenous; Lestrange must have neglected to feed his captive. Harry had watched him enviously, but he omitted this from his account, not wanting to impose upon the hospitality of the very drawn looking Mrs. Tonks.

The story Malfoy had told the Aurors was very simple. He'd gone for a walk in the sunshine, wondering if he should visit his other aunt to see the were cub, when Lestrange had pulled him into the bushes and stunned him. After Disapparating with his captive and hiding him in a ditch somewhere near Stonehenge, Lestrange must have sent a message to Malfoy's parents, demanding a ransom. The rest was history.

The Aurors had accepted this account and gone on to concoct an interesting theory of what had happened next. Malfoy's parents had gone to Stonehenge, his mother Polyjuiced as her sister Bellatrix to lure Lestrange out of hiding. When he did so, Malfoy Sr. had killed the hapless villain, Disarmed Savage, who came charging at the fake Bellatrix, and freed his son with a Finite Incantatem. Then, suspecting the Unforgivable would not sit well with Magical Law Enforcement, the Malfoys had taken to their heels, escaping to the tunnel under the road and Apparating home once they were beyond Savage's net.

Draco Malfoy had objected loudly, spitting tuna bits from his last sandwich. Who cast the Stunner that had hit Lestrange simultaneously with the Killing Curse? he'd demanded to know. Why cast all spells silently, and then say the Finite aloud? The voice who had shouted that last spell hadn't been his father's anyway. And finally, he'd like to know how the Aurors were going to prove their theory.

Savage had merely shrugged, while Green had made a half-hearted attempt to ascribe the Stunner to "Bellatrix", but what it boiled down to was that they didn't have any answers to Malfoy's questions. Nor did they have any proof whatsoever to corroborate their theory. They might actually have to drop the matter, as further investigations at Malfoy Manor would most likely be pointless. By now, both Lucius and Narcissa had no doubt used their wands to cast a few innocent spells, to make sure a Prior Incantato would not yield any incriminating results.

Harry's feelings were mixed. In essence the Aurors were right: one of Draco Malfoy's parents had cast the Avada Kedavra. It was galling to think they'd escape the consequences of their actions once again. On the other hand, for all the other parties involved it would be very reassuring if the case were dropped.

When Savage and Green dismissed Malfoy, Harry had left for the Mudhole, tired and empty after all the fruitless excitement.

'I would like to know who cast the Stunner, though,' he finished his account.

'I did,' Lupin said with a sigh. 'And the Expelliarmus as well. The Finite on Draco Malfoy was you, I guess.'

'I'm not very good at silent spell-casting,' Harry admitted with a shrug. It was curious that Malfoy hadn't told the Aurors whose voice he had heard - surely he had recognised it?

'Where did Narcissa and Lucius go, I wonder?' Andromeda was wrapping a jet black curl around a finger. She really looked disconcertingly much like Bellatrix and Harry found himself hoping that whatever she'd done to turn her hair black would wear off soon.

'If I'd been them, I'd have moved to a part of the Henge where no one was searching, and waited everything out.' Lupin rubbed his face; the phrase 'death warmed over' seemed a kind description for it. 'Harry, you look tired. You've done a great deal tonight, and I think you need to go home to sleep.'

'I did almost nothing,' Harry protested. 'Teddy's still missing. According to the plan, Remus would disguise himself as Narcissa, and I was going to save him once the exchange had been made. The Malfoys wouldn't interfere and Lestrange would be caught, not killed. It didn't work out very well, did it?' All he'd got to do was cast one lousy Finite on someone he still didn't like. _So much for saving people_. And what a petty complaint.

'My fault, for the most part,' said Andromeda glumly. 'Because I didn't want Remus to take any risks on Narcissa's behalf. It's my sister, after all.'

'Whom you suspected of abducting Teddy,' Lupin remarked. 'Not that I'm not grateful, of course.' He smiled. Andromeda pursed her lips.

So they were back to Teddy again. Harry cleared his throat. 'What do we do now?'

'Sleep,' Lupin replied. 'We'll be able to think more clearly when we're rested. Really, Harry, you'd better return to the Burrow.'

He was right. Suppressing a yawn, Harry rose to go to the living room and Floo to where his heart was, and therefore his home. 'We'll stay in touch.'

TBC

**A/N:** So, no cliffhanger today, but stay tuned - next chapter will see a new and unexpected development.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter XVIII**

'So it wasn't Draco who stunned me two days ago,' Remus said when Harry had left.

'Polyjuice,' muttered Andromeda. 'I knew it.' Savage, hired by Narcissa. But as Remus didn't buy this, it was useless repeating it. They'd been over this before Harry came and during the entire discussion their respective positions hadn't changed one inch - he was as stubborn as she was, and at this moment, only slightly less irritable with fatigue. But she clung to her conviction, and now the hour of truth was near.

She'd saved her sister from the revenge of Rodolphus Lestrange, and that had to count for something. Maybe Narcissa would relent now and give Teddy back. The Malfoys must have returned home by now; she'd Floo them, and then...

Trembling - with fatigue, she told herself - she got up from her chair and went to the fireplace in the living room. Remus followed her. He said nothing, but when she took the jar of Floo powder, he gently removed it from her hand.

'Please, go to bed, Andromeda. It's five o'clock in the morning.' He put the jar back on the mantelpiece. 'I know what it is you want to do, but it's better to do it after you've slept.'

'Do you really think I'll be able to sleep?' she retorted. 'Sleep won't change anything about the situation, so why not act now?'

'Sleep will change you. And me,' he added almost ruefully. 'Let's give ourselves the chance to put things into perspective. If you want...' he smiled faintly. 'I've got some of that sleeping draught left on my nightstand.'

There was something to be said for not disturbing a couple at a time when their son had just returned from a very scary adventure. 'I'll take half of it,' she said. 'You'll need the other half.'

Remus was right; it did help. When Andromeda woke up it was mid-morning and the sun was shining. For a heartbeat all seemed well, until she thought of Teddy, and her chest constricted. Rising from her bed, she discovered that her leg muscles were sore after their involuntary exercise at Stonehenge. On top of that, her bedroom door remained a mess: a Reparo had put the scattered pieces of wood back in place, but the cracks and scorch marks remained visible. She sighed, feeling that her present life had much in common with that door.

Gazing into her mirror, she saw Bellatrix look back at her, but that was something she could remedy, at least. Grabbing the decolouring potion she'd prepared together with the dye she stepped under the shower.

&&&

It had been a difficult decision, but there she was, in Andromeda's living room, talking with the werewolf. He was not really a bad sort, she supposed. Almost a gentleman, compared to Greyback, though still a Dark Creature and not someone you wanted to be seen in public with.

She accepted the coffee he offered her and even took a sip after he had levitated it to her with his wand.

'So you had no idea what Andromeda had in mind?' Narcissa asked between sips. The coffee was actually good.

'No, or I'd have stopped her.'

Yes, she supposed he would. 'She probably saved you from Rod Lestrange,' Narcissa felt obliged to point out.

From the look on Lupin's face she deduced that not everything had been as it seemed at Stonehenge. _I'll be damned if he didn't call in Potters help despite his promise to Lucius._ She wondered what exactly the hero of the Wizarding World had been doing last night. Not much. And it didn't matter.

'She saved your son from Lestrange,' Lupin amended.

And she'd be properly grateful if she didn't think Andromeda was bound to have had a secret agenda. 'Did she?' Narcissa asked coolly, remembering the unpleasant things Meda had said to Lestrange. 'I'd say she enabled others to save him.'

'She enabled someone to kill Rodolphus, you mean.' Andromeda, her hair reassuringly brown again, stepped inside the room. 'It was you, wasn't it?'

'Oh, very nice, Meda! I'm here to thank you for what you did to rescue Draco, and the very first thing you do is throw Rod Lestrange's death at me. You presume an awful lot.' With a clattering noise Narcissa set down her coffee cup. 'And if it was me, so what? Don't tell me I'd be in trouble. I've still got credit in the Wizarding World - in more than one sense of the word. No one can prove anything, neither against Lucius nor against me. The only person the Aurors saw last night is Bella, and she's dead.' _Even though you did your damnedest to revive her. _

'It was never my intention to have Lestrange killed.'

'Oooh, I seeee,' cried Narcissa. 'You doubt the poor lonesome wretch deserved it.' She turned toward Lupin, who was on the edge of his chair now, either because he was about to bolt or because he expected a sensational revelation. When their eyes met, he got up and said. 'I'll be in the kitchen, if you need me.'

Andromeda sat down in the chair vacated by the werewolf. 'So. Tell me about Rod Lestrange's crimes and misdemeanours.'

'You have no idea, haven't you?' Narcissa spat. 'I'll spare you the details. but the past two years were horrible. I was no longer the mistress of my own house, or of my own fate. The Dark Lord - oh, to hell with it, he was just Tom Riddle - he and his cronies essentially occupied Malfoy Manor and I was under enemy rule. The year Lucius was in Azkaban, Rod asked if he could have me, and Riddle said yes. Not that Rod wasn't still besotted with Bella, but she hardly noticed him, except when she felt snubbed by Riddle. And a gentlemen has his needs hasn't he? Rod ditched me before Lucius was released, and Lucius pretends not to know and never speaks of it, but I kept having nightmares about it and I hate it, and I hope it will finally be over now!'

Her confession met with such a lengthy and deafening silence that Narcissa began to regret her outburst. But finally her sister spoke.

'Am I supposed to pity you?' she said in a deceptively low voice. 'Oh yes, I'm sure it was unpleasant - poor little Cissy and the big bad Rod. It might even explain why Lestrange wanted the bitch, instead of the pup. But I'd be willing to suffer a lot more than that, if only it gave me Dora back, and Ted - and my grandson.'

_Does she even believe a word of what I said?_

Andromeda's voice became rough. 'Though I'd hoped you'd have the decency to give me Teddy back to me after everything I did, instead of just sitting here, drinking my coffee and acting the murdered innocence.'

So that was behind it! She was supposed to have the little cub, and to hand him back out of sheer gratitude. Narcissa couldn't help herself and giggled nervously. 'Oh Meda, just because I took him out of his cot when he cried, that day...'

'Just because -' Andromeda gasped like a fish out of water. 'You sent that bloody letter to the Ministry claiming Remus and I were unfit to raise him, offering to take him yourself! And when it turned out you didn't have them at your beck and call, you went ahead and hired Savage to Polyjuice himself as your son and abduct the baby, knowing Draco would not even confess under Veritaserum - as it wasn't him. Very clever, Narcissa, I'll give you that. But I've seen through it. Oh yes, believe me, I have.'

Narcissa's merriment faded. So her sister had gone over the edge. It was in the family, after all. She couldn't even find it in herself to be angry. 'Savage? I never even spoke with the man.'

'You went to the Ministry, the day Teddy disappeared. I know you saw an Auror; a Hit Wizard called Gumboil told me so. The Auror Imperiused Gumboil, ordering him to take me to the Ministry for questioning about a stolen a book, so I'd be out of the way and he could Apparate here, take Remus by surprise and abduct Teddy.' Like a bad actress in an even worse play, Andromeda rose and pointed a finger at Narcissa. 'I accuse you of hiring that Auror, Savage, to rob me of my grandson!'

'Meda,' Narcissa said in what she hoped was a reasonable tone - with the insane, you had to tread carefully - 'the Auror I spoke to, the one who told me your letter had been sent on to Gumboil, was a woman with an eye patch; I believe her name is Green. I admit I wrote that letter. I even admit I wanted the Ministry to act on it. But I swear on the life of the son you helped save that I never paid anyone a single knut to abduct Teddy.'

&&&

In the kitchen, Remus picked up the newspaper he had been about to read, closing his ears to Narcissa's increasingly strident voice. Nevertheless he found it difficult to concentrate. How would Andromeda react once it became clear that her sister wasn't going to give back Teddy, simply because she didn't have him? He sighed and flipped a page, bracing himself for what he'd encounter in the Letters section.

If it wasn't worse than he had imagined, it was only because his imagination tended to gravitate to the darkest possible scenarios anyway. The section contained a dozen letters, all but one focusing on the abduction of his son, and of those, all but two were full of vitriol. The first exception was a letter from Xenophilius Lovegood, who seemed to think Teddy was born a werewolf and had been abducted to a reservation on the Kola peninsula engaging in social experiments with youthful werewolves. The second was from Molly Weasley, who expressed her shock and horror at the idea that someone would sink deep enough to rob a defenceless little child of his caretakers and his familiar surroundings.

The others blamed Remus and Andromeda, but mostly Remus, and in no uncertain terms. Most of the writers were absolutely certain he'd killed his son during his most recent transformation and secretly buried him somewhere. One witch, signing herself as Lamia B. Leach, thought this was actually for the best, provided the boy's father would be buried with him, preferably alive. Others preferred more regular punishments, of which Azkaban was the mildest version. A widowed wizard by the name of Seth Bluebeard considered Andromeda the main victim of the tragedy and offered himself up as a more suitable partner than that Dark Creature, but most letter writers didn't think Teddy should be returned to her if he was found, though they didn't propose further punishment.

One of these purported to have been written by Draco Malfoy.

Remus didn't know how long he sat there, staring dumbly at the name, but presently he noticed that the two sisters had fallen silent, unless they were talking very softly. Closing the paper and folding it, he rose and went to the living room.

Both women looked up at him with troubled faces, making Remus wish he had better news. When he mentioned the impossible signature, Narcissa jumped up.

'I knew it!' she cried. 'Somebody is trying to frame us for Teddy's abduction! When yesterday's Prophet came out, with that silly photo in it, Draco wasn't in a position to write any letters.'

Andromeda held out a hand. 'Can I have the Prophet, Remus?'

His fist closed firmly around the paper, crumpling part of it. 'You don't want to know what's in it.'

'You really don't have to protect me against the opinions of bigots and idiots.' Her tone was not unkind though, as if she appreciated his attempt to shield her from them.

'Maybe I want to protect myself?'

He would never know if this argument would have worked. Before he was aware of it, Narcissa's wand was out, pointing at the bone of contention. 'Evanesco,' she said, and the next moment Remus was holding a fistful of air. 'This is not the moment to start bickering like an old married couple. Don't glare at me like that.' She pursed her lips: 'Meda, listen. Abducting your grandson and trying to implicate my son - first the Polyjuice, then a letter he can't have written - it's obvious somebody hates us. We must do something!'

She looked expectantly at Remus. He'd come a long way in a short period of time, he mused - from loathsome Dark Creature to helping wand within forty-five hours. Not that this meant his brain was able to conjure up a workable plan yet. 'Let's try to get our facts straight first,' he suggested.

Andromeda leaned back in her chair. 'I stick to my theory,' she announced.

'But you admitted -' Narcissa began.

'Except for one detail,' her sister continued, unperturbed. 'You and your men folk are not behind Teddy's abduction.' Narcissa huffed. Andromeda smiled faintly at Remus. 'You were right all the time about that. I should have realised long before that Draco could never have Apparated here. You need to be able to visualise a place to do that, and he's never set foot inside this house.'

Something occurred to Remus, and he went to the writing desk in the corner near the window to retrieve Draco's letter. 'Mrs. Malfoy, is this your son's handwriting?' He showed Narcissa the parchment.

She looked at it and snorted. 'It is. So he actually did it...'

'Did what?' Remus asked.

'Offer to baby-sit the cub.' When he raised an eyebrow she added with a dismissive gesture: 'It was just a silly joke, made by Riddle last year, when he found out you married Nymphadora. Bellatrix got all worked up...' Belatedly, Narcissa seemed to realise she had taken a wrong turn at some point. _Tactless woman_.

Andromeda hissed. Remus found himself staring at the word 'cub', written in Draco's somewhat pointy handwriting. 'Interesting,' he murmured. 'Either someone intercepted his letter and knew - or assumed - that he would visit us. Or the disguise was the coincidence of the month.'

'Draco's owl post is being monitored by the Auror office.' Narcissa looked as though she had bitten on something filthy.

'Oh is it? It all fits together,' said Andromeda with cold satisfaction. 'Teddy's abductor is one of the Aurors who invaded us last week and confiscated your wand, Remus. Savage, or Green - or both of them together. Only they knew about _Werewolf Lore_.'

'You ought to have been an Auror,' Remus told her with a smile.

She made a face at him. 'All I ever wanted to be was a Healer, but -' The sound of the doorbell interrupted her. 'What now?' She got up to answer the door

'Talk of the Dementors and you'll find them on your doorstep,' Remus heard Narcissa mutter when Andromeda returned with two Aurors in her wake.

The Aurors were Savage and Green. Both were looking tired but triumphant, and both had their wands out.

'This time, we do have a warrant.' Savage bared his teeth in what was not really a grin. 'Mrs. Tonks. Lupin. You'll follow us to the Ministry to answer some questions concerning the disappearance of your son and grandson, Teddy Lupin.' He pointed his wand at Remus. 'You are under suspicion of having killed the boy during the last full moon, while you' - he turned to Andromeda - 'are suspected of having helped your paramour get rid of the body. Your wands, please.'

_Oh Merlin_, he thought, almost blinded by shock, an iron vice squeezing his heart in a painful grip. _I've done it. Repaid her support and kindness by dragging her down with me. I keep destroying the women I love._

TBC

A/N: Five more chapters to go. Plus an Epilogue, yay!


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter XIX**

The Aurors interrogated them separately, Andromeda first. Remus was locked inside a narrow room with bare, smudgy walls and as far as she could see, no enchanted window or anything to sit on. Savage ushered her into a similar room, except that this one contained a rickety table, three chairs, and a clock that told her it was eighteen minutes to eleven. Green told her to take the chair facing the door, which she locked with a Colloportus. The two Aurors sat down on the other side of the table, their wands in front of them. Her own was languishing in an inner pocket of Savage's robe. Together with Ted's - no, Remus's now, she thought with a pang that could be loss but was definitely mixed with anxiety.

'Well, Mrs. Tonks,' Savage began, 'We've already got your name and address and you are forty-five years old if our information is correct' - she nodded - 'so let's get straight to the facts. Your grandson Teddy is missing? Since when?' A quill hovering at his elbow began to scribble on a long roll of parchment that disappeared beyond the edge of the table.

'The day before yesterday, some time in the afternoon,' Andromeda replied.

Savage raised his bushy eyebrows in an exaggerated way. 'The day before yesterday? Then why didn't you immediately report it? And we know that you didn't, despite what the photo caption in the Prophet said.'

The day of Teddy's disappearance would have been right time, before she found out about Lestrange. _So why didn't I report it then? Because I couldn't think clearly, and Remus dragged me home through the fireplace?_ But by saying so she'd incriminate him.

'We were going to, the next day,' she replied. 'But then the Howlers arrived. Dozens of them.' More like eight or nine, but they wouldn't be able to prove that. 'If you want to know what kind of abuse they screamed at us, have a look at the Letters section in today's_Prophet_. After a while, we couldn't bear listening any longer, so we stopped our ears and tried to get away, but they started to explode all over the house. It took us all day to repair the damage as best we could, and by the evening we were exhausted. You can return to my house and have a look at my bedroom door if you don't believe me.' _Not bad, Dromeda_.

'And today?'

'Today we were about to Floo to the Ministry when my sister arrived.'

'How very convenient.'

'My sister,' Andromeda told them, '_did_ read the Letters section of today's paper. She came to tell me I should throw out the werewolf, as she put it.' Which was true enough, if you squinted at it. 'I was about to throw _her_ out when you arrived.'

They exchanged a look, and apparently decided this wasn't getting them anywhere.

'So,' Savage said suddenly, 'is it true what some of those letters to the Prophet said, that Lupin bit his son to make him like himself, but went a bit' - he grinned at his own horrible pun, and Andromeda wanted to hex him - 'a bit too far, and that the boy died of his injuries? That you helped him bury the body in the garden before you even went to the Ministry the day before yesterday?'

'Dig up my garden. Drain my pond, if you must,' Andromeda replied once she had unclenched her teeth. 'You won't find a thing. But before you do so, first ask Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger if anything was wrong with Teddy when they came to visit us, a couple of days after the full moon.'

They seemed taken aback. Harry Potter was about as easy to ignore as a Howler, and almost as likely to explode.

'Tell us what happened, the afternoon your grandson disappeared,' Savage ordered.

As Andromeda realised it was no use pretending she'd been at home when it happened, she had no option but to give a watered down version of her own so-called arrest by Gumboil, suggesting it was a silly misunderstanding and omitting any references to the Imperius curse. Teddy's abductor - the thought that she was in the same room with him or her made her sick - must not be alerted to the fact that she suspected foul play.

Both Aurors were observing her intently, seeming to hang on her every word. 'So you were away when the boy disappeared,' Savage concluded after she'd finished. His next remark was as predictable as it was rhetorical: 'Then you can't be sure Lupin told you the truth about the child's disappearance.'

'So far he hasn't given me any reasons to assume he's a liar.' Except by omission, that time he hadn't told her what it was Lestrange wanted.

'But you aren't wholly objective concerning him, are you, Mrs. Tonks?' Green stressed the name that connected her with her dead husband.

Now she had to tread carefully. As the Aurors already believed Remus and she were lovers, denying it would only serve to make both of them more suspicious. And to her own puzzlement, Andromeda realised she wasn't particularly eager to deny it.

'May I know what you are trying to suggest?' she countered.

'That your relationship with him has made you more tolerant toward him than you'd be towards anyone else,' Savage replied, 'and that you may be more inclined to... condone his actions than you would anyone else's.'

Deliberately, Andromeda caught the female Auror's eye and held it. 'My grandson,' she said slowly, 'is all I have left of my daughter. I loved her more than anything in the world, more than my own life. Do you seriously believe that any other consideration or emotion would override my devotion to that baby?'

Green looked away.

'Will the Wizengamot ever believe such a thing?' Andromeda went on. 'And will they believe a man would kill the living memory of the wife he lost?' _And doesn't remember._ But that was none of their concern.

Abruptly, Green looked up. Her eye glinted. 'Of the wife he doesn't seem to mourn at all, given the speed with which he has sought and found comfort elsewhere? We are talking about a werewolf here, which you seem to forget, Mrs. Tonks.'

'Would he even _need_ such comfort, if he wasn't grieving?' Andromeda heard herself counter - to her own surprise, because this was dangerous territory she'd much rather avoid.

The Auror opened her mouth, but at that moment, Savage bent towards his colleague and whispered something into her ear. Green frowned, apparently not liking what she heard, but after a few moments she shrugged.

Savage cleared his throat. 'Mrs. Tonks,' he said in a formal voice, not quite able to hide his irritation, 'though we cannot hold you here, we must inform you that you remain under suspicion.' He reached into his inner pocket to separate her wand from its mate and put it before her on the table. It started rolling away, and Andromeda laid a hand on it. 'You may go for now,' the Auror added, 'but you will hold yourself available for further questioning.'

She rose and nodded, sweeping up her wand. 'Goodbye.' And pointing her wand at the door she opened it with a silent Alohomora, before either of them could do so.

Outside, she took a deep breath, wondering whether anything she had said made any difference for Remus.

&&&

'You'd better confess, Lupin,' was the first thing Savage said after he'd marched the werewolf to the interrogation chamber and tied him to his chair with a flick of his wand.

Lupin was a little pale, but his gaze was steady and he did not look intimidated, Niobe thought. 'How can I confess something I haven't done?' he asked. 'Or can't have done, to be more precise. I can give you the names of those who saw my son after the last full moon, and they'll confirm he was healthy and thriving.'

He was saying essentially the same as Andromeda Tonks, and Niobe could see the clouds gather on her colleague's face. His hands resting on the table, Savage bent forward, though not too far. 'Don't prevaricate, werewolf! You're undersuspicion of having murdered your own son, and if you didn't do it during the last full moon, you did it two days ago while his grandmother was out. Afterwards, you buried his body in the garden behind the house, and when she returned home you pretended the boy had been abducted. In addition, you probably Confunded her into thinking that someone else had taken him!'

For a fleeting moment, Lupin looked actually murderous. Then his face acquired a surprised expression that struck Niobe as less than sincere. Addressing himself to her he said: 'So, if I understand you correctly, the accusation has changed and is no longer related to my being a werewolf?'

From the corner of her eye, Niobe saw Savage point his wand at him with an almost violent movement. The next moment Lupin's entire body shook violently and his head jerked back. 'You will only speak when I ask you a question!' Savage gave an additional jab with his wand. 'This has everything to do with you being a werewolf. Some would have it that your kind are a menace only when the moon is full. But the likes of Fenrir Greyback' - and Lupin winced - 'provide ample evidence to the contrary. They kill and maim people in their human forms even when the moon is dark - though the word human is a mockery when applied to such monsters. Once a werewolf, always a werewolf.'

He really was in full swing now. 'What's more,' he went on, 'when the moon is full, you are nothing but mindless beasts, hardly accountable for your own misdeeds, but it is at times when it's not full that you werewolves are at your most dangerous and threatening. Evil can lurk underneath the most civilised of faces. You may -'

A knock on the door interrupted his rant. It was the new secretary, the one with the dreadlocks and the toothy grin. 'Hit Wizard Gumboil would like to see Mr. Savage,' she said. 'It's urgent, he claimth.'

With a scowl, Savage turned away from his prey. 'Coming,' he snapped, 'but don't let me hear you mimicking his lisp again!' The trainee's face fell. 'Niobe,' Savage added, 'make sure the quill writes down everything Lupin says.' He spelled the door open and marched out of the room.

_Whatever you say, dear_. Niobe locked the door again and turned to Lupin. 'What my colleague was trying to say, was that the accusation has everything to do with you being a werewolf, because you are one at all times. Even when you're looking deceptively human, like now. And I would like to add that my main concern is, that werewolves should not be entrusted with the care of children - of any age.'

Lupin remained silent for a while, his face closed and unreadable. At last he said: 'So if I could prove I'm no longer a werewolf, you'd be willing to consider I'm innocent?'

_To me, it wouldn't make the slightest difference. I know you're innocent._ But it was in the Wizarding World's best interest to make a case against child rearing by werewolves, and this was a golden opportunity. If this meant Lupin had to suffer - well, to make an omelette you needed to break eggs. 'I fail to see why this is relevant, as you _are_ one,' Niobe replied.

'Perhaps I'm not.'

'Oh, really? Explain yourself.'

'During the last full moon, I did not transform.' Lupin tried to shift in his chair, but Savage's ropes impeded his movements. 'Nothing happened. I remained human all night.'

Niobe frowned. Had he lost his marbles? She'd heard a rumour that he'd been seen in the Janus Thickey ward of St. Mungo's. Not exactly a place where you went with a pristine mind. 'Are you sure you aren't engaging in wishful thinking now?' she asked. 'I warn you not to waste my time.'

'I agree that it does seem incredible,' said Lupin, as if he'd been eavesdropping on her thoughts. 'But it's -'

'Impossible. There is no known cure for a werewolf bite. Do me a favour, Lupin, and try to pretend we've both left the age behind us when Beedle-the-Bard tales were real.'

Stubbornly he shook his head. 'Is there some kind of procedure I could follow in order to establish whether it's true what I say? Spending a night here at the Ministry, with witnesses watching me from a safe vantage point?'

There had been a precedent, Niobe knew, a mere two years ago, shortly after Greyback had resumed his atrocities in the wake of Voldemort's return. A man he had bitten stubbornly refused to believe he had truly become a werewolf. They had given him the Wolfsbane Potion for a week and locked him up before the full moon. To nobody's surprise but his own, he had promptly transformed at moonrise, and that had been that: Registration, warnings, dismissal, the usual thing. Lupin was just clutching at straws.

On the other hand... 'I suppose we could give you the Wolfsbane Potion in the week preceding the full moon, put you in a cage and watch you to see what happens.'

'Wolfsbane.' Lupin looked surprised again, as if he'd never heard of it. 'Maybe that's a good idea. Not that the cage sounds very appealing, but...'

Niobe eyed him sternly. 'I have to warn you: if it turns out you're right - which I don't believe for a moment - this would not automatically prove your innocence in the matter of your son's disappearance. Nor does it mean we'll let you return home after this interrogation.'

'I understand that,' he replied calmly. 'All the same I think it might help.'

No, she thought. _No, it won't_. Lupin was overlooking something - or he'd forgotten it for some reason. Wolfsbane was a poison, fatal to normal humans. If he succeeded in proving he was no longer a werewolf, he would do so at the cost of his own life. And the Black bitch would lose her new lover, which was only fair.

'All right. I'll drop a note at Werewolf Support Services,' Niobe told him. 'The support wizard will be able to provide you with the stuff.'

'Thank you.' Lupin said gravely, looking directly at her. After a brief pause, he added: 'I am confident he's alive. My son. The abductor took his nappies and his baby milk and his clothes. Whoever did it will no doubt take good care of him - until he's found.' He smiled.

That hopeful smile really was too much. For the first time, Niobe felt a little uneasy about the whole affair, and she tore her gaze away.

TBC

**A/N:** As always, thanks for reviewing!


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter XX**

The last person Harry expected to materialise at the garden fence of the Burrow while he was enjoying a late breakfast, was Draco Malfoy. As Molly Weasley showed no inclination to let this particular visitor in, Harry went outside.

When he reached the fence, Malfoy nodded at him. 'Potter.'

'A good morning to you as well,' Harry said.

'You wouldn't call it good if you knew what happened earlier today.' Malfoy looked smug, though only a little.

'I'm sure I'm about to hear it, Malfoy.' And with mounting indignation culminating in fury, Harry listened to Malfoy's account of what had happened at the Mudhole that morning, while his mother was visiting there.

'Thought you might want to know about it before it's in the Prophet tomorrow,' Malfoy finished. 'What with your hero complex.'

'Are you actually trying to do me a favour?' Harry asked suspiciously, suppressing his immediate urge to run back inside and Floo to the Ministry.

His anger must be visible on his face, for Malfoy took a step back. 'It's certainly not because you dropped me so unceremoniously onto the Slaughter Stone with your Finite, last night,' he replied with a familiar sneer. 'I know you were there, acting the heroic Gryffindor under your Invisibility Cloak. I recognised your voice, Potter.'

'Why then?' Harry said, growing impatient.

'Last month. Room of Requirement. You know.' Now Malfoy looked away.

Harry was surprised that the other would actually acknowledge his life debt. 'You're welcome. I guess.' He started to turn away.

'Wait!' Malfoy said. 'I never told you this, mind you. And my mother is _not_ involved.'

'Don't know what you're talking about,' Harry cried over his shoulder, running back to the house. Before he closed the kitchen door, he heard Malfoy Disapparate with a very loud crack.

Inside, Harry grabbed the piece of toast from his plate, crammed it into his mouth and hurried on to the Floo, ignoring the questions fired at him. He noticed he was being followed but didn't check who it was until he stepped out of one of the Ministry fireplaces.

His pursuer turned out to be Hermione, who held two more pieces of toast in one hand and brushed off her clothes with the other. 'I thought you might want to eat a little more,' she said, handing the pieces to him.

'Thanks,' he said, looking at the fireplace. 'Isn't Ron coming?'

'I told him to stay put until I knew what this was about.'

Briefly, Harry told her what he'd heard from Malfoy. 'I'm going to Robards to demand an explanation. This is absurd.'

She quite agreed with him and promised to meet him up at Level 2, together with Ron. Harry didn't watch her leave but immediately started for the lifts, chewing his toast. A very crowded lift took him to the Auror Office at Level 2, where he accosted a young witch who was levitating a bunch of files towards one of the cubicles. 'Please, where can I find the Chief Auror?'

The idea that she was talking to the great Harry Potter himself made the young witch blush. Almost stumbling over her words, she told him that Mr. Robards was in the conference room. Normally people were not allowed to disturb him there, but for Harry Potter he would undoubtedly make an exception. Before he could walk on, she asked him for his autograph.

'I'm in a bit of a hurry right now. Later, when I'm done here,' he promised, thinking vaguely that he might be able to evade her on his way back. She beamed.

Stepping into the corridor leading to the conference room, Harry met with the sight of a very worried looking Mrs. Tonks, pacing outside an ugly metal door. 'Harry!' she exclaimed. 'Have you heard?'

He nodded. 'Draco told me.' At that, she looked up in surprise, though she made no comments. 'But he told me you were arrested as well,' Harry went on, dodging an airplane memo.

'I was, but they let me go. Lack of evidence, I suppose, though they never admitted it in so many words. But I'm afraid they won't let Remus leave. He was at home when Teddy was taken, with no one to vouch for him. I can't possibly claim I was with him, as Gumboil knows I was here at the Ministry.' Andromeda lowered her voice. 'You and your friends had better not tell anyone that Remus was out when you searched the Mudhole, that particular afternoon.'

'But they can't accuse him just like that!' Harry protested.

'Oh, they can. Many people, including many members of the Wizengamot, don't need Greyback's rampaging to think the only good werewolf is a dead werewolf.' She looked away. 'I used to be one of them, you know. Before I learned to know Remus.'

Harry fidgeted with his remaining piece of toast. He didn't know what to say to this, but she didn't seem to expect a reaction, resuming her pacing instead.

'Um, I was on my way to Robards,' he broke the heavy silence.

'Robards? I doubt he'll listen to you. This time, the Aurors did have warrants, so he must have thought they had a case.'

'I have to speak to him!'

'To whom, Mr. Potter?' said a voice. Apparently, the Head of the Aurors was done conferring; he came striding towards them with an unknown subordinate in tow.

'To you, sir. Remus Lupin has been arrested,' Harry informed him. 'I'm sure there's a mistake. Maybe you could order the Aurors who arrested him to let him go?'

'Ah, Mr. Lupin...' Robards raised a hand as if to warn him not to make assumptions. 'Actually, I signed the warrant to have him brought in for questioning and to arrest him if he couldn't provide satisfying answers. I allowed them to bring you, too, Mrs. Tonks,' he added, turning smoothly towards her. 'I hope you were able to provide the information they needed?'

'So it was information they wanted?' she asked, her eyebrows raised in what Harry thought were very elegant arches. 'When they came for us, I was under the impression I was about to be arrested, too.'

Robards frowned. 'Savage and Green may have been a little too... forward, as they've got something to prove at the moment. I see they let you go, so no harm has been done. Allow me to offer my apologies on their behalf. ' He smiled winningly. Andromeda didn't return the smile.

Harry strongly suspected that Savage and Green had been taken off the Death-Eater Hunting squad after bungling Lestrange's arrest and bringing him in dead without being able to explain where the Killing Curse had come from. No wonder they were so eager to "solve" Teddy's disappearance by blaming the man who, from their point of view, had to be the most likely suspect.

'Remus Lupin is a hero of the war,' he said indignantly. 'I have it from his own mouth that he fought for his son's future.' _Said at a time when he and I both believed he was dead, no less._ 'You can't seriously think he went on to kill the child? And you can't just assume the boy is dead when you don't have a body.'

'A war hero? I suppose he did fight in the battle, though as far as I recall he was taken out fairly soon by Dolohov and didn't perform any notable feats...' Robards drew himself up, looking grim and dutiful. 'Mr. Potter, even heroes can stumble, and the disappearance of a baby is no small matter. Aurors Savage and Green must have the chance to get to the bottom of this. I will not interfere with their investigation, at this point.' A more benign expression appeared on his face. 'If they decide to arrest Mr. Lupin, I'll grant you the opportunity to talk to him for a couple of minutes, though.'

Harry suppressed both his urge to shout and to pull a wand on the fellow. He felt his anger turn cold and hard. 'You haven't heard the last of this,' he said calmly to Robards.

The Head of the Aurors looked both scandalised and distinctly uncomfortable.

&&&

Remus wasn't in the least surprised that Green made a formal arrest in the end; after all, he had been alone in the house when Teddy had disappeared. In all probability, he would have arrested himself under the circumstances. He had been glad to see they'd let Andromeda go, though; implicating that she had anything to do with the disappearance of her grandson was sheer malevolence. He would very much like to know what lay behind it.

At that point of his musings, Green had removed the ropes binding him to his chair. A movement of her wand brought him to his feet. He wondered if she was going to put a partial body-bind on him. Not that he even contemplated a bid for freedom. The prospect of having a chance to prove officially he was not a werewolf anymore, was too wonderful. An attempt to escape would only spoil it.

The door to the interrogation chamber opened. A man he did not know (or recognise) stepped inside, followed by Andromeda and to his astonishment, Harry.

'Where's Savage?' the man asked Autor Green. 'And have you reached a decision?'

'Savage had to leave, but I'm sure he'd agree with my decision to arrest Lupin,' Green replied.

'Well then,' the man said, 'turning to Andromeda and Harry. You've got five minutes.'

Green held out her hand. 'Your wands, Mrs. Tonks, Mr. Potter. You'll get them back when your time is up.'

For a moment, Harry seemed about to object, but in the end he followed the example of Andromeda, who handed the Auror her wand with a look of unmitigated contempt. When Green closed the door behind her, Remus sat down again, gesturing for the other two to take the chairs opposite him, as if he were the host of the party.

'I'm not going to accept this!' Harry said before his posterior even touched the seat. He threw a mangled, crumbling piece of toast on the tabletop. 'If necessary, I'll go all the way to minister Shacklebolt himself. He was your fellow-member of the Order of the Phoenix. He'd never let you rot in prison.'

'Not even if I were guilty?' Remus asked calmly. 'I do hope that in that case, justice would prevail.' They both gaped at him, which was rather endearing. 'But quite possibly,' he went on, lowering his voice, 'you won't have to go that far. Unless I'm very much mistaken, the Auror who took Teddy is the one with the eye patch, Niobe Green.'

'I've been thinking the same since her name came up.' Andromeda bent towards him, her lower arms resting on the table. 'Few men would have taken the baby stuff and somehow I don't think Savage's one of those.'

'True enough. But in my case it's not a conclusion. I saw it. I saw an image of Teddy in her mind, lying in an unfamiliar cot, in an unfamiliar room.'

The instant Remus had gazed straight into Green's single eye, the awareness that he could penetrate behind the surface to see what was in her thoughts had come to him from somewhere in his forgotten past, and he had done so without any compunction. Yet another art he must have mastered in his previous life without consciously remembering it, he had thought.

'You used Legilimency?' Harry said in a loud, delighted whisper. 'I was never quite sure you could do it, but on several occasions...' He faltered; Andromeda began to cry.

'Oh Teddy,' she gasped between sobs. 'If she was thinking of him like that, he must be alive! He must be alive!'

Remus grasped both her hands with his. 'Oh yes, I believe he is! And you are going to find him today.' He didn't tell her that in the image, his son had been crying, his eyes pressed close, his tongue quivering in his mouth, his little fists clenched. It had taken him an effort not to betray himself when he'd seen that, to smile a bright smile that spoke of hope.

'I'll find out where Green lives.' Harry rose from his chair. 'Ron and Hermione'll be coming too - they must be on their way here by now, and once I knew the address, we're off!'

Remus stared at Andromeda's hands. _I mustn't do it_, he tried to tell himself. But they were lying on the table like trembling little creatures; he couldn't leave them like that, and so he reached for them and pressed them. His own hands were shaking, too, he realised.

Andromeda looked up at him, blinking new tears away, 'I wish Legilimency could be used as evidence,' she sighed, 'but Dora told me it's not done.'

'Why not?' asked Harry, halfway to the door.

Remus could guess. 'Probably because it's impossible for a court of law to check what exactly the Legilimens has seen. But in this particular case they'll never accept my evidence anyw-'

The door opened. 'Time,' Green announced. Stepping inside, she signalled for Harry and Andromeda to leave, holding out their wands.

One more time, Remus pressed Andromeda's hands. Her eyes were still running over, but he knew how the Auror would interpret it: as the tears of a woman whose lover is about to be locked up in a cell.

And that was fine with him.

&&&

Andromeda and Harry met Ron and Hermione just outside the lifts and quickly put them in the picture. It was Hermione's idea to ask the assistant Harry had met earlier for Auror Green's address.

As it appeared, the young witch was still hovering in the corridor with the cubicles. Faced with their request, she told them how much she deplored it that she wasn't allowed to give the addresses of a Ministry Auror to outsiders.

Harry began by informing her that neither he nor Ron were really outsiders, as they'd be joining the Auror force very soon. When this didn't immediately yield the desired result, he asked her if she was still interested in getting his autograph.

This turned out to be an offer she could not refuse. 'It's her new apartment,' she told them when she handed Harry the slip with the address. 'She moved recently - to a Muggle neighbourhood, no less. It's where her late husband grew up, I heard.'

Apparently, they had chanced upon the Department gossip. 'She didn't strike me as the married type,' Andromeda remarked, before she marched on to the lifts.

'He got murdered in the first Voldemort war,' the assistant told the other three. Their young son as well. She survived but lost the sight in one eye. Poor woman. Never got over it.'

As the four of them shared a lift with several outsiders flitting in and out at the various Ministry levels, none of them said much during the descent to the Atrium. Outside, one look at the address was all Hermioned needed to know it was in South Tottenham. They decided to take the Tube.

'Well, now we know why Green did it,' Harry said once they had found seats in one of the carriages of the Victoria line.

'She took her time, if it was a baby she wanted.' Ron moved closer to Hermione. 'Why not try the natural way, I wonder?'

'She did it because she saw a chance.' Andromeda's lips were tight and white. 'She had almost twenty years to act but she only did so after she found out about the child being raised by a werewolf.'

'We don't know that for certain,' Hermione pointed out. 'She may have tried to rob a baby before.' The ohters looked unconfinced.

'So, what's the plan of action?' Ron asked after a pause.

'Spell the door open once we've got there, grab Teddy and be off,' Harry replied.

'Huh,' grunted Ron. 'I've got a hard time believing it will be that simple.'

Hermione dug up a small camera from the depths of her handbag. 'We can't let her get away with it, which is what could happen if we just took him back,' she announced. So, I'm going to take a few photos as well, to be able to prove it was in Green's apartment we found Teddy.'

'Brilliant!' Ron grinned.

The underground train stopped at Oxford Circus. 'You're right, Hermione' Andromeda said pensively, 'she can't be allowed to get away with it.'

Instead of looking happy at this promise, Hermione seemed troubled. 'I wonder,' she began tentatively, 'don't you feel some kind of... understanding for her, Mrs. Tonks? I mean, back then she must have gone through... what you went through this year. Losing her husband and child.'

Andromeda stared into the middle distance. 'Apparently, it didn't make any difference to _her_ that I must have gone through what she went through once. Under the circumstances, understanding is not foremost on my mind.'

At that, silence fell. After a while, the three teenagers went on to discuss further details and possible obstacles they might encounter, but Andromeda spoke no more until their train halted at the Seven Sisters Tube station, where they had to get off.

They found the apartment building without having to ask the way more than once, and the locked front door gave way to Harry's Alohomora. None of the nameplates in the hall bore the name Green, but spotting three doorbells without any names they decided to try all three apartments.

The tenant of the first one was a middle-aged Muggle with an untidy appearance who denied knowing anyone by the name of Green. The second tenant didn't answer the door when they rang.

'This is it, I think,' Harry said softly. He pointed his wand at the door.

Andromeda also lowered her voice. 'How are you going to deal with the baby-sit, if there is one? A woman who abducts a baby with nappies, milk and all, and who has been a mother herself, probably won't leave him to his fate when she goes to work.'

'Use a Stunner, if necessary.' said Harry after a few moments of soul-searching. 'And afterwards an Obliviate if it's a Muggle.'

'Which we're about to find out, I guess,' murmured Ron.

To judge by the many cardboard boxes in the hall and the living room, some of them full, others half unpacked, the tenant had quite recently moved in. They had found the right address. But there was no sign of any occupant.

Followed by the others, Andromeda was the first to move from the empty living room to the little hall beyond. There were three more doors. Opening the first two they discovered a large bedroom and a bathroom with tiles in linden green. Behind the third door was a smaller room. It held a cot, and on the wallpaper fluffy bunnies of various colours were frolicking in a sunny meadow. In a rocking chair in one of the corners some brightly coloured baby clothes were waiting to be used.

The cot was empty, though.

TBC

**A/N: **When are we finally going to see Teddy again? one reader asked. Your patience will be rewarded in the next chapter.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter XXI**

In a holding cell in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic, Remus wondered where Andromeda was now. Had she found Teddy yet? And was he still alive? That Niobe Green had an image of him in her mind did not necessarily mean he was. Remus shuddered.

He jumped up, but the door was only one step away. Could he have picked a worse place to panic than a small, locked cell, with no chance to relieve his tension even by pacing? In an attempt to banish his morbid thoughts of a dead baby, he imagined what would happen when Andromeda would lift up the little boy with the mousy brown hair, and Teddy would recognise her and stop crying and be happy again.

Before Teddy's disappearance, Andromeda had told him how Dora had been unable to morph for almost a year while he was spying on Greyback' and his werewolves - all because he had tried to back out of their relationship, judging himself unworthy of her. Unhappiness would do such things to a metamorph.

By now, he had learned more than enough to know how damaging his lycanthropy had been, both to himself and to those near and dear to him. Not merely, and perhaps not even in the first place, because of the danger. This occurred only once a month and could be contained. The problem was the man he was the rest of the time, grown askew like a tree on a windswept shore. In a way, Savage was right: once a werewolf, always a werewolf.

But now that he had been granted a new beginning, by whatever means, for whatever reason, he had to believe some things could be straightened out. Growing up, Teddy ought to be proud of his father, instead of being ashamed of him. Andromeda must never become an outcast in her turn for providing him with a place to live - and perhaps, love.

For that, Remus was willing to undergo whatever it took to try and leave his stigma behind. If they wanted to put him naked in a cage in the midst of the Ministry Atrium and give Rita Skeeter and her photographer free rein, he would accept it.

_And if, against your own hopes and expectations, you would turn into that same old werewolf when the next moon is full? _

'I will have tried, at least, he told the walls of his narrow cell. Want of trying was the truly despicable thing.

&&&

So close... Her legs turned to jelly, Andromeda dropped to her knees before the chair with the clothes. She took one of the rompers, pressed it against her face and inhaled deeply. It smelled of baby, not of detergent. Somehow, this propelled her to her feet again, her body screaming for action. She turned toward the others; all faces had fallen.

'Merlin's pants! Where can he be?' Ron wondered.

'She can't have taken him along to the office.' Frowning, Hermione had taken out her camera to take a photo of the cot.

'He could be at the baby-sitter's home,' Andromeda said, while the camera was aimed towards the baby clothes.

'Let's look for an address book.' Harry shot out of the room like a Firebolt.

Hermione took a picture of the bunnies darting across the wallpaper. Then she tensed. 'What's that?' she whispered.

'Whadd'ya -' Ron began rather loudly.

'Shh!'

The next moment, Andromeda heard it, too. The noise was muffled by a wall, but even so, it was unmistakably the sound of a wailing infant._Teddy._

'He's at the neighbour's!' she said sharply.

They trotted out of Green's apartment and marched to the door on the other side of the landing. Nobody spoke until they were standing in front of it. According to the nameplate, the occupant of the apartment was a certain C. Latimer. Somewhere on the other side of the door the baby was still crying.

'We'll force our way inside if we have to.' Harry, his hand hovering near the doorbell, looked grim and determined. 'If we have to take out innocent Muggles, so be it. Getting Teddy back is more important.' He rang the bell. Hermione opened her mouth and shut it again.

The woman who answered the door was old, probably in her seventies, Andromeda guessed. Her hair was almost white and she was wearing a shapeless dress and felt slippers. Her face was not unkind but she was visibly taken aback by the three unknown teens and the equally unknown woman in a long robe crowding her doorstep.

'What can I do for you?' she asked.

Inside the apartment the baby's protests continued. 'Can we come in?' Harry asked bluntly. 'We're looking for a baby that was abducted a couple of days ago, and we think he's in here.'

'A couple of days ago? I never heard anything about a missing baby on the news.' The old woman, probably Mrs. Latimer, raised her eyebrows. 'You're from the police? Show me your -.'

'We're, um, private detectives,' Harry interrupted her.

The woman frowned and didn't move from the spot.

'There are reasons why it wasn't on TV,' Hermione added.

Suddenly, it became too much for Andromeda. Elbowing Harry and Ron aside, she put a foot inside the door. 'I'm the boy's grandmother,' she said, not bothering to suppress the fury in her voice. 'He's the son of my deceased daughter and I want him back! Get out of my way!'

Mrs. Latimer shrank aside, her eyes wide, possibly with fear. Andromeda couldn't care less and marched inside.

The apartment's layout mirrored Green's, and drawn by Teddy's cries as by an invisible thread she went straight to the smaller of the two bedrooms. There, Teddy was lying on a big bed flanked by two high backed chairs to prevent him from falling on the floor. Yanking one of the chairs aside she reached out and picked her baby up.

His hair was mousy brown, like Dora's had been, the year Remus had tried to ignore both her love and his own. He had been wailing full force, his eyes squeezed shut, his little face puffy and red with the effort. When he felt her hands, though, his eyes flew open, and looking straight at her face, he recognised her. The crying subsided.

'Teddy,' she murmured, her own eyes running over, 'Teddy, oh, my darling boy - I've missed you so!' Carefully she laid him against her chest, one hand behind his head, suddenly both exhausted and satisfied, as if she'd just given birth to him. It was the closest she'd ever come to new motherhood since Dora - since the infertility curse Bella had cast on her, that fateful day when they had met by chance in Diagon Alley. It was a feeling, at the same time blissful and bitter.

Teddy hiccupped once. Andromeda smiled against his soft cheek and carried him to the tenant's living room.

'It's him!' she announced to the world at large.

Harry beamed and crossed the room to tickle Teddy under his chin. Ron put his thumb up and Hermione cried: 'Oh, Mrs. Tonks, I'm so happy for you!'

Mrs. Latimer, dwarfed by the tall form of Ron at her side, resembled a detainee about to be marched off to prison. 'She claimed he was her grandson,' she said, her tone apologising. 'The child of her son, who'd died in an accident together with his wife.' Harry blinked. 'How was I to know? She only moved in a week ago... that's why he's here - her apartment is still a mess, she said; I wouldn't feel at home there.'

_No, you'd find magical artefacts there, and other things you aren't supposed to know the existence of_, Andromeda thought.

'I thought he was crying an awful lot,' Mrs. Latimer went on, 'but well... some babies just do.'

'It's not your fault,' Hermione tried to reassure the old Muggle woman, who for some reason reminded Andromeda of Ted's mother. 'And as your neighbour will be arrested now, I doubt you'll be hearing from her any time soon.'

'You've taken good care of him, what with those chairs against the bed.' Andromeda pressed a kiss on Teddy's forehead. 'Thank you.'

'I've got grandchildren myself, though they're older than he is,' Mrs. Latimer told her proudly. 'So I know what it takes...' She gasped. 'Oh my God! What's happening to his hair?'

They all stared. From mousy brown, Teddy's hair was turning a bright turquoise. With a sad little sigh Hermione looked at her wand, visibly regretting the Obliviate she would have to cast before they left.

_I'm very sorry, Mrs. Latimer,_ Andromeda thought. But it would probably be for the best.

&&&

They left poor Mrs. Latimer in a state of mild confusion and returned to the Auror's apartment to gather all the baby things. Andromeda was the one who closed the front door; she wasn't going to depart without leaving behind a sample from the considerable array of traditional Black curses she had learned as a teen but had rarely used since.

Instead of taking the Tube back, they Apparated to the Mudhole. There, Andromeda changed Teddy's nappy and tried to feed him, only to discover that Mrs. Latimer must have done so recently, as he wasn't hungry. From the Mudhole they Flooed to the Ministry, taking the baby along.

Confronted with the evidence in the form of a living, turquoise-headed Teddy, Niobe Green surrendered her wand without putting up any fight. She confessed right away, in the presence of Robards and Savage. The former immediately gave order to free Remus Lupin from his holding cell before taking her to the interrogation room - where the latter sulked all through her story, knowing his colleague had been using him all the time.

'I knew about Narcissa Malfoy's complaint, of course,' Niobe told them all, 'and as I'm the person checking Draco Malfoy's owl post during his probation time, I also knew about his mock offer to baby-sit.'

'Maybe it was genuine,' Hermione remarked.

Green looked at her as if to say 'Dream on', but refrained from commenting. 'The rest was easy. I'd Accioed the loose hairs from Draco's robes when he and his father were here at the Ministry for their post-war hearing. His father's hairs, too, but they weren't of any use to me in this case.'

'You were badly out of bounds taking those hairs, Green!' Robards seemed very angry, as if this was somehow a worse offence than abducting a baby. 'Why did you do it? You know very well we only use Muggle hair for our Polyjuice disguises!'

'I thought it might come in handy some day.' Green cast a glance at Andromeda, who was sitting with a sleeping Teddy in her lap. 'As it turned out, it did.'

'You tried to kill two birds with one stone: robbing Mrs. Tonks of her grandson and implicating the Malfoy family,' Harry said suddenly. 'Why?'

Green stared at Andromeda for a full ten seconds, speaking only just before Harry lost his patience and opened his mouth again. 'It was_your_ sister, yours and Narcissa Malfoy's, who killed my husband and my son in the first war,' she spat. 'You and your werewolf got the worse deal, as my Draco part of the plan didn't work out very well, thanks to Lestrange.' Her tone became insinuating. 'But then again, your resemblance to Bellatrix is a lot closer than Narcissa's, isn't it? And why spare a werewolf?'

Andromeda was visibly struggling for self-control, but with a baby dozing in your lap jumping up and grabbing someone by the throat is not really an option.

'To the point, Green.' Robard's frown became even more pronounced than it had been.

'If you insist.' And interrupted by the occasional question from the chief Auror, Green proceeded to tell how she had seen Miss Granger secretly put back the _Werewolf Lore_ book (Hermione's face flushed) and removed it from the Archive again. How she had Imperiused and Obliviated Gumboil and left the book on Savage's desk (Savage growled something under his breath) to point away from herself. Everyone had been welcome to conclude that Savage was hired by Narcissa Malfoy to abduct the baby and that the plan to use Hit Wizard Gumboil had been his.

'You realise,' said Andromeda, 'that sending my sister on to Mr. Gumboil was your big mistake? Otherwise, Mr. Savage here would have remained our prime suspect.'

'You weren't supposed to find out it was me!' cried Green indignantly, as if someone had played a dirty trick on her. 'You and your sister were supposed to be estranged!'

Andromeda smiled thinly. 'Circumstances brought my younger sister and me together, and she saw no reason to remain silent about it - not after you stole her son's identity and used his name to send a letter to the Prophet.' But she didn't elaborate on the circumstances, and if Green suspected what the elder surviving Black sister was referring to, she didn't bring it up - what good would it do now?

Nevertheless, she did fire a last question. 'Even so, I must have been less suspect than him.' Her gesture in Savage's direction resembled a punch. 'Why did you go to my place? And how did you find him?'

'I saw an image of my son in your mind, crying in an unknown room,' a hoarse voice said from the doorway. Remus Lupin stepped into the room, a free man. On seeing Teddy, his pale, lined face lit up. He crossed the distance to Andromeda's chair in two big steps and knelt at her feet, lifting a hand to touch his son's cheek with the lightest of touches.

The child did not wake up but dreamed on, a pleasant dream; the turquoise of his hair became impossibly vivid and intense. Remus remained on his knees, seeming content to be where he was. Everyone smiled, except Savage and Green.

'You're a Legilimens,' the Auror with the eye patch broke the silence, her voice bitter. 'Who would have thought the werewolf was a Legilimens? If I'd known, I'd have averted my eye or used Oclumency.'

'And I can answer the question how we found him,' Harry put in, with a pointed stare at Green. 'We heard his cries in the apartment next door. He was crying very loudly. He did that a lot, his baby-sit said. Kids need to be with their own family, you know.' He and Remus exchanged a look, and they both smiled.

'Enough.' Robards rose. 'Green, what you did is beyond contemptible. I'll personally take you to the same holding cell where you put Lupin. You'll be tried and fired - though not necessarily in that order. Prepare for a long stay in Azkaban. Savage, I'll see to it that you'll be fired as well. I'd have suspended you and then given you another chance if you'd only bungled the arrest of Rodolphus Lestrange by killing him instead of capturing him. However, in this case you've let your prejudice get in the way of your judgement. There will be no place for you in the reorganised Auror corps. But we've got some excellent new candidates, eager to replace you.'

He looked from Harry to Ron as if they were his handpicked choice, apparently quite sure that Minister Shacklebolt would let him keep his prominent position.

'Really?' Harry asked. 'Well, I might be a little more eager to join your Auror corps, Mr. Robards, if you'd think that apologies were in place. After all, Mrs. Tonks and Mr. Lupin were arrested on very flimsy grounds.'

Robards's face went bright red. 'Apologise!' he barked to Savage and Green, missing both Hermione's headshake and Ron's eye roll. Possibly, he had already forgotten that the signature under the arrest warrant had been his.

Neither of the two fired Aurors had any reason to obey his command. Savage growled something incomprehensible. Green was livid.

'There's no justice in this world!' she shouted. 'Sisters of murderous Death-Eaters and werewolves go free and are allowed to raise a vulnerable child, while victims are locked up! But you won't get away with it. Mark my words, you won't!' She laughed curtly, and when Robards motioned her to the door with his wand she left the room with a grimly satisfied face.

Her shouts had woken Teddy, who began to fuss. 'Shh,' Andromeda said. 'Nothing to worry about, little one. The nasty woman can't hurt you any more.'

TBC

A/N: Phew! Teddy's safely back at last - and only two more chapters to go. Thanks for reviewing.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter XXII**

That evening, they were quite the happy family again. Andromeda and Remus were having dinner at the kitchen table, while Teddy sat in his rocking chair, babbling to the toy rabbit in his hand. Occasionally he lifted his head, and sometimes he managed to turn it before it fell back against the chair. His hair was the green of the plush rabbit's fur and he looked happy as a clam. Andromeda, too, could hardly keep her eyes off him, Remus saw. The child seemed doubly precious, now that they knew what it was to have lost him.

Seeing the love on Andromeda's face, Remus smiled, feeling that he could look at it for hours and be content to do just that.

All the same he knew the idyll was fragile, if not false. Niobe Green was an embittered woman with an unresolved trauma who had gone over the edge, but in the Wizarding World her views were more than just an isolated incident. The Howlers and the letters to the Prophet bore ample witness to this. And though history would probably not repeat itself in exactly the same manner, it might do so in other damaging ways.

He had to go through with this plan to have himself tested under Ministry supervision during the next full moon. If the results were positive, any humiliation they subjected him to would be a small price to pay.

'Andromeda,' he said, putting his cutlery down, 'there's something I'd like to discuss with you.' And he told her about the possibility Green had mentioned to him.

To his disappointment, she looked dubious. 'I don't know if it would have the desired effect,' she began. 'If it was just you... But you must have noticed that Green hates me more than she hates you. No doubt there are many more people out there whose lives have been destroyed by Bella - during the last year of the war she really went on an anti-Muggleborn rampage, and much of the damage she did is beyond repair. Who knows how many of the survivors will decide one day that I and my loved ones are suitable targets for revenge? And it's not as if I can ever stop being the sister of Bellatrix Lestrange, or resembling her as much as I do.'

_Did she say "loved ones", plural? _No - she couldn't be thinking of him in terms that went beyond affection and friendship. Remus kept his thoughts in check before they could run away with him. 'Andromeda, as far as I'm concerned, you resemble Bellatrix about as much as Teddy's toy rabbit resembles a werewolf. Your family name is of little consequence. It's not you.'

She shrugged.

'Every bit helps,' he went on. If I can prove I am no longer the menace many wizards and witches believe me to be, people would have one less reason to harass us. Don't forget that most of the abuse in those Prophet letters was directed at me.' He paused for a moment. 'And if I'm no longer a Dark Creature I can seek a job, instead of living of your war pension and the money Ted left you.'

'You're entitled to Dora's pension, and to your own.' But her voice was low, probably because she knew no pension could beat having a job and being self-sufficient.

In the silence, Teddy's babbling assumed a note of indignation; as it turned out, he'd thrown the rabbit just out of range. Andromeda flicked her wand to levitate it back to him.

She put the wand down. 'I have a confession to make. When Dora said she was going to marry a werewolf and Ted and I were heaping objection upon objection - to no avail - she told me plainly that she didn't care what you were. I thought she was talking nonsense. I even told her so, once: of course she had to care, of course it mattered. Now...' She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. 'Now I've come to realise that Dora was right. Even if it turns out that you merely skipped a transformation, I won't care. It doesn't matter what you are, because I know who you are.'

'Thank you.' Remus grinned, happiness spreading all through his body. 'You must be the woman who defied her elitist Pureblood family to marry a Muggleborn. I'm honoured to know you.'

Andromeda bit her lip, not quite looking at him. 'Yes, I suppose that woman's still there, mangled and battered though she is. Do me a favour, Remus, and take me seriously. I've got a bad feeling about this.'

'Is it because it was Green who suggested it?'

'It does play a role. Do you blame me for not trusting her?'

'But it's not Green who's going to feed me this potion,' Remus argued. 'She mentioned Werewolf Support Services, and that's where I'll be going.'

'There's no way you can be stopped, is there?'

She was obviously struggling with the idea, but he couldn't abandon it. 'Andromeda - do you really want to let the opportunity pass me by?'

'How could I?' She raised her face to his. 'It means too much for you, and who am I to say you must live with the fear and the loathing and the hatred for the rest of your life? But please.' Her look was more than just pleading. 'Please, Remus. Be wary. We can't miss you, Teddy and I.'

Remus's heart skipped a beat. He wanted to pull her up from her chair and crush her in his embrace. But he knew she didn't mean it like that.

'I'll be on my guard,' he promised. Then he shrugged. 'For all we know, the people at Werewolf Support will laugh themselves silly and kick me out again.'

As it turned out, though, this was not the case. The next morning, strengthened in his resolve by the Prophet report that suggested Green's main error had been that she hadn't used _legal _means to claim Teddy, Remus visited the Werewolf Support Services. To his relief, his request to be tested met with surprise, instead of derision. The wizard who received him was, in fact, almost as supportive as his function suggested, telling him to sit down and explain himself. That he professed himself disinclined to believe that Mr. Lupin hadn't transformed during the previous full moon was understandable, especially as Remus left out his amnesia and his (near?) death-experience from his account. After all, he wasn't _entirely_ certain the two phenomena were related, and it didn't seem wise to shed a dubious light on his own mental capacities.

Remus's request was noted down. A couple of days later he received an owl with the message that, unusual and probably futile though it was, the Beast Division had decided to grant it because of his meritorious conduct during both Voldemort Wars. He was invited to return to the Ministry for further instructions.

The procedure seemed bearable. He was to report at Werewolf Support exactly a week before his transformation was supposed to take place. On the night of the full moon, he would report at the Ministry, and before moonrise they would lock him inside a special cage built for experiments with werewolves (the term 'experiment' made Remus raise an eyebrow, but the support wizard, whose name was Gower, assured him he would not be subjected to anything he hadn't asked for. Which was not what had made Remus raise his eyebrow, but he decided to let it pass). During the week preceding the full moon he would receive a daily dose of the Wolfsbane Potion to make sure he would remain harmless, even in the very unlikely case that he managed to break out. Gower warned him that the potion tasted vile, but Remus was not going to let insignificant details stop him.

During the period of the full moon itself, he would be observed by three independent witnesses whose personal histories did not in any way involve werewolves, to be appointed by the Ministry. If the three would be in agreement that he had not transformed and they would agree to sign the concomitant form, he could file an application with the Werewolf Registry to have his registration as a werewolf lifted. This could take a while, Gower admitted, but surely Mr. Lupin agreed that it would be worth waiting for. Had he mentioned, by the way, that the Wolfsbane Potion wasn't free either?

He hadn't, but Mr. Lupin was not particularly surprised. He inquired whether he would have to pay the fees in advance (in which case he intended to borrow the money from Harry, as borrowing it from Andromeda was out of the question), but Gower told him he could sign an IOU. The first year, he added, the interest would be modest.

After a few moments of consideration, he opted for the IOU, just in case Harry and his friends were to voice the same sentiments he'd heard from Andromeda. In the worst case, he could always borrow the money later, he reasoned. He made an appointment for the day he'd be expected at the Ministry, and he and the support wizard shook hands and parted amicably.

Remus went home feeling optimistic. The obstacles - a foul potion, a night in a cage under observation - were too minor to deter him from going through with this. _It's going to work_, he told himself. Before long, he would be a completely normal wizard, not just in the eyes of people who knew him, but in the eyes of the entire Wizarding World - of the Savages and the Greens and the Malfoys and all those people who sent nasty letters to the Prophet. He would truly start a new life. And maybe, if he were really lucky, one day Andromeda's part in it would no longer limit itself to being his son's grandmother.

That night, he dreamed his dream of the forest again, but everyone except Harry felt distant and unreal - and Harry didn't even notice him. Remus wanted nothing more than to be elsewhere.

&&&

On hearing about the procedure and the helpfulness of the support wizard, Andromeda still remained unconvinced. The bad feeling she had about the whole thing kept nagging at her when she went to bed and while she tossed and turned during the night, torn from sleep by dreams of Dora and Ted. And as the days went by and the full moon drew nearer, she still couldn't put her finger on it.

The dreams themselves were cause for concern, too. They were becoming less vivid, especially those about Ted; when she woke up he was no longer always foremost in her mind. Of late Remus was figuring in the dreams, and not as Dora's husband. He never even seemed to know Dora.

This was too close to reality, and a source of dismay. That Remus couldn't remember his wife and didn't mourn her the way Andromeda mourned both her husband and daughter, was at the same time saddening and merciful, and had been so since he had come to live with her. The sadness was for her, the mercy was for him, and she had learned to live with it. But too often, these days, she allowed his lack of mourning and his tranquil good humour, intrude upon her grief and wipe it out.

It made her feel guilty. It was a form of betrayal. Every time her mind slipped and it seemed the most normal thing in the world that he was sitting across her at the table, shared the care of Teddy with her, helped her weed the garden, or did a thousand other things with her, it was betrayal. Every time one of her thoughts dwelled wishfully on the Howlers and the Prophet letters that had made them out to be a couple, it was betrayal.

She didn't want to be a traitor. Not again. But it was in her blood, she supposed, for the present was battling the past, and winning. Grieve, she ordered herself, looking at her photo albums with Ted and Dora. Grieve, her mind cried, surveying their clothes in the wardrobes. Grieve! her memories yelled at her. But part of her heart wasn't in it anymore: Remus was slowly hauling it in, probably without knowing or wanting it. And if anything would happen to him...

Then one morning, Remus announced that today was the day and that he would leave for the Ministry after breakfast to take the potion. Putting down his cutlery he pulled his wand and held it out to her. 'I'm going to leave this with you,' he told her. 'I won't be needing it to Floo to the Ministry, or back here. I'd have to hand it in during the night of the full moon, but as it's Ted's, somehow that doesn't seem a good idea. It belongs here, with you.'

Mechanically, Andromeda took it, staring at it as if she had never seen it before. She must be getting old - how could she have forgotten Remus had been using Ted's wand after such a brief time? Looking up at him, she said: 'Please, stop calling it Ted's. It's yours. It has chosen you, and wands know what they're doing, even better than people, at times. Or so I'm told. But I'll keep it for you until you return.'

What would he think now? she wondered. Would he know what she was thinking?

Remus smiled, and rose. 'Time to go.' He bent down to kiss Teddy, who was sitting in Andromeda's lap. 'Bye, Teddy!' Then, instead of straightening, he raised his head, and after a slight hesitation, pressed a kiss against her cheek. 'Bye, Andromeda,' he said softly. Before she was aware of it, he'd hurried to the living room, where she heard him cry: 'The Ministry of Magic!'

By the time she entered the living room, touching the spot where he'd kissed her, the green flames were already dying down.

&&&

Though it was past nine, breakfast in the Burrow was still going on when the Floo call from Andromeda Tonks came.

'Thank you. It's very kind of you, but I won't come in,' she declined Molly's invitation. 'I'm Sorry to bother you, but I need to know something, and I thought Hermione might have the answer.' She looked as if she'd rather ask anyone else, though.

As it happened, Hermione had finished breakfast already and gone back upstairs, but Ron offered to get her. For some reason, this took a couple of minutes, to Andromeda's visible exasperation.

When the two came down at last, she fired ahead at once. 'Hermione, do you know what the effect of Wolfsbane Potion on non-werewolves is?'

Hermione blinked. 'I'd have to check it in _Advanced Potions_. Why do you ask, Mrs. Tonks?'

'Remus has gone to the Ministry to take the potion for a week, as part of a procedure to prove he's not a werewolf anymore.' Andromeda's voice was shrill.

'But it's not in _Advanced Potions_!' Harry jumped up. 'That book's fifty years old or so, and the Wolfsbane Potion is a recent discovery... Do you realise who would have known the answer right away?' he went on, his voice suddenly odd.

They all did. But that person was no longer alive.

'That's it,' Andromeda said grimly. 'Sod the books. Molly, can I bring Teddy here for a while?'

'Any time, dear,' Molly replied.

'Thank you.' Andromeda's head disappeared from the flames. A minute later, she was back with the baby, whose hair promptly turned Weasley red when Molly took him over.

'I'm off.' Andromeda turned back to the fireplace. 'Harry,' she said over her shoulder, 'please don't follow me. I can handle this alone. I have to handle this alone,' she added in a low voice.

Deflated, Harry sat down, looking as though staying put was sheer heroism on his part.

Hermione however, turned deadly pale. 'I remember now,' she whispered. 'Wolfsbane. Also known as Aconite or Monk's Hood. One of the most poisonous plants in the world and the main ingredient of the Wolfsbane Potion. Possibly lethal to non-werewolves.'

Using a ridiculous amount of Floo powder, Andromeda all but threw herself into the fireplace.

'I _am_ beginning to wonder when we can start trying for peace,' Molly said with a sigh.

TBC

**A/N**: Candeh - Remus's thoughts in the previous chapter reflect his fears. Reality may turn out to be less hot, but more dangerous...


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter XXIII**

**A/N1**: The last chapter, and the longest so far. Enjoy!

After an unpleasant encounter with the security wizard in the Atrium, who used a Disarming spell to make sure the visitor really wasn't carrying a wand, Remus feared he would be on the late side for his appointment. But the door to the Werewolf Support office on Level Four was locked. Remus sat down on the bench in the corridor, just outside the office.

He wasn't the only occupant, the others being a woman of approximately his own age and a boy he guessed to be eight or nine years old. The boy looked sullen, the woman nervous and Remus realised it was probably too much to hope that their presence was unrelated to the existence of the Werewolf Support Service. Had he been sitting in this corridor as a boy, more than thirty years ago, hating his fate, yet unable to change it? Had his mother been fretting, sick at heart because of the life her son would have to face?

'Have you been here for long?' he asked in a neutral tone.

'About ten minutes,' the woman replied. 'Usually, he's very punctual. Gower, I mean. Do you have an appointment?'

Remus nodded. 'I do. But you're first, of course.'

She pulled a face. 'O, I don't have an appointment. But I'm trying anyway. It 's called "Werewolf Support", so he'll have to help us one day, don't you think so?'

Wondering what she was talking about, Remus gave her an encouraging smile and she went on: 'My son here was bitten by that thrice-cursed bastard Fenrir Greyback last year. I've been begging Werewolf Support to provide him with the Wolfsbane Potion ever since I found out about its existence. Gery hurts himself a frightful lot when he's transformed - we lock him up in the cellar, so he can't get at others.'

'Don't want to,' the boy muttered.

'Of course you don't,' Remus said. It was true enough, whether the boy was referring to being locked up or getting at others. He turned to Gery's mother. 'But they won't give him the potion?'

Grimly, she shook her head. 'There's no budget for it, says Gower, though I know that some werewolves who have relatives working for the Ministry get it. But he needs it, and it's far too expensive for us, damn it! It's so unfair... I wish I could threaten Gower with turning Gery loose on the Ministry, but he knows too well I'd never do such a thing, as they'd punish my boy along with me. It's _not_ fair.'

Remus couldn't agree more, but before he could voice his opinion Gery's mother said: 'Why are you here?' She looked him up and down. 'You don't really look as if _you_ can afford the Wolfsbane.'

'Well, I _am_ here to take it, actually,' he replied, feeling guilty.

She huffed. 'Gower's old crony or second cousin, I suppose?'

Remus just opened his mouth to deny any closer connections with the support wizard when Gower showed up. He was walking carefully, a large, steaming goblet in one hand, a wand in the other. Remus rose.

'Sorry I'm late, Mr. Lupin,' Gower said. 'I wanted to have it ready when you came, but not everyone's as early as we are.' He laughed but his laughter died when his gaze fell on Gery and his mother. 'You again. How many times have I told you no?'

'Seven times,' she replied. 'And that's seven times too often.'

Ignoring her, Gower unlocked the door to his office with a flick of his wand. 'I suggest you drink it in here,' he told Remus. 'More privacy. And you'd best do so right away.'

&&&

The Atrium was horribly crowded, as though every single witch and wizard working for the Ministry had conspired with all the others to be late for work today and make life hell for her. Elbowing through the mob that seemed intent on barring her way to the lifts, Andromeda felt her wand hand itch, but the trademark Black curse that would cleave a clean swath through the throng of human bodies would be too counterproductive.

If Green had crossed her path, though, instead of sitting in a holding cell, she would have drawn to kill. Green, whose threats hadn't been empty after all. _Nasty woman can't hurt you any more_, she'd told Teddy. But she could, oh yes. How she could hurt him! _And me._

Six weeks ago, Andromeda had wished with all her heart it was Remus who was dead, instead of her daughter. She'd taken care of him all the same, because it was what Dora would have wanted, but she had resented it. Now that she was in danger of losing him, she would give anything to have that terrible wish undone, and the thought crossed her mind that if he would die on her, it would be because she wasn't worthy of him.

When the golden gates of the lifts were finally in sight, she encountered the second obstacle in the form of the security wizard. Of course, he took his time passing the rod along her body and of course, the slip of parchment carrying her wand specifications got stuck and had to be Accioed out of the checking device. She ripped her wand from his hand before he'd properly read it. Pursued by his strident voice, she hurried to the lifts, all the while thinking: _Don't drink the Wolfsbane Potion, Remus. Please, please, don't drink the Wolfsbane Potion! _

Though there were twenty lifts, there was queue in front of each of them. She picked the shortest, but several others arrived earlier, and when the third of these arrived, she fought her way inside, ignoring the indignant cries and the foul looks. Other occupants of the narrow space poked their fingers into her and sides and one wizard she'd given a rather hard shove deliberately stepped on her toes. He was wearing heavy boots, and it hurt.

The lift was excruciatingly slow, and at each level too many wizards and witches took far too much time to get off and on. It seemed hours before the announcer's voice said: 'Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Being and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office and Pest Advisory Bureau.'

Andromeda struggled out of the lift, stumbling and almost falling. _Don't drink it. Don't drink it. Don't drink it_.

&&&

When Gower stepped inside his office, Remus hesitated only a moment. 'Mr. Gower, why doesn't the boy outside get the Wolfsbane Potion?'

Gower made an involuntary movement, and part of the potion slopped over the rim and spattered on the carpet with a hissing sound, discolouring it immediately.

'We can't just give it to any werewolf appearing on our doorstep!' he said indignantly. 'Do you know how many of your kind there are in Britain? It would be far too expensive.'

'He hurts himself. That should be ample reason to give it to him.' Remus crossed over to where Gower stood and took the goblet from his hand. 'The remainder of this should work very well for a boy his age, I'd say.'

'Mr. Lupin,' Gower said threateningly. 'If you think you will get a new dose when you take this goblet to the boy outside, you're mistaken. It's up to you. I won't stop you if you want to give this and all your following doses - and he'll need _all _of them for the potion to work - to the child for a short-lived relief - just one full moon, for he still won't be on our list. If you do this, you won't get another chance to try and prove you're cured.' He jabbed a finger at Remus. 'In the eyes of the Wizarding World you'll remain a werewolf for the remainder of your life, whether you are one or not. Is that what you want?'

What did he want? _Isn't it pointless, _he said to himself_, to give up your chance, just to spare a single child the pain and savagery of a single full moon? By ridding yourself of the stigma, you'll be of much more use to numerous others than by giving in to a brief impulse of compassion and throw away this unique chance to help both yourself and many others. _

What was the right thing to do? Remus turned around. The door was still open, and he could see Gery and his mother just behind it, listening with wide eyes, looking hungry.

_Gery and his mother will walk away disappointed, but it will be for the greater good._

&&&

_Don't drink it. Don't drink it. Don't drink it._ The words acquired a rhythm of their own while her feet stamped along the main corridor of the Fourth Level. Around the corner and the first door to the left. _Don't drink it!_

Rounding the corner, Andromeda spotted three people, about fifteen yards ahead. One of them was a short woman with an untidy blonde bun. Next to her was a boy, pulling a very ugly face.

The third person, standing opposite the others with a goblet in his hand, was Remus. He held the goblet almost horizontal, and when she saw the last dregs of its contents drip to the floor she knew it was empty.

Her legs threatened to give way and suddenly the fifteen yards became fifty miles. It took her an eternity to reach them, and none of them seemed to notice her presence. 'Remus,' she croaked, when the fifty miles had finally shrunk to one. 'Did you drink that?'

Slowly, as if the air had become viscous, he turned his head. 'Andromeda? What are you doing here?'

'Did you drink that?' she repeated almost hysterically.

Shaking his head, Remus pointed at the boy. 'He did.'

'Thank Merlin!' She flew around his neck with such force that he staggered. 'Thank Merlin you didn't! It's poison!' She felt Remus arms come around her, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

'It's a poisonous drug - just like many others,' said a voice from the doorway behind them. 'It's supposed to sedate the wolf inside the human.' A balding man in his forties stood eyeing her scornfully, as if she had just scored a Troll on her Potions Newt. 'If, on the other hand, there's no wolf to sedate, the amount of aconite in the potion is more than enough to kill the human. That's why I'd never advise it to normal wizards,' he added mockingly.

Remus stiffened. 'Why didn't you tell me so, Mr. Gower?'

'Because you _do_ have a wolf inside you, Mr. Lupin, just like this innocent-looking boy here. Your condition is incurable - I'm sure _someone_ told you at some point.' Gower coughed behind his hand. 'Gery, you may return the rest of the week for the other doses, if you want. It's Mr. Lupin's treat; be grateful to him for being such a remarkable idiot.' And withdrawing inside, he closed the door to his office.

'Say "thank you, sir".' Gery's mother nudged her son

'Thank you, Mr. Lupin, for being such a remarkable idiot,' her son said with a stony face. 'But I don't think you are, really. This stuff tastes foul.' Suddenly he frowned, studying them with a critical eye. 'Hey, I've seen you two in a picture in the Daily Prophet. Mum says you ought to get properly married.'

'Gery!' his mother said, pulling him away.

Andromeda could see a flush creep up Remus's neck, but all the same he kept hugging her closely. He was shaking a little - with nervous laughter? 'You were right to warn me,' he said after a few moments. 'I daresay Green knew that the Wolfsbane potion was poisonous to non-werewolves.'

'Well, you were right all the time about Narcissa,' she replied, letting out her breath in a long sigh. 'But why did you give the potion to the boy?'

'You heard it,' Remus replied, now with genuine amusement in his voice. 'Because I'm a remarkable idiot.'

'Huh,' she said against his shoulder. 'You're simply a Gryffindor. But I'd rather take an idiot home than a corpse.'

&&&

It was wonderful to hold her, wonderful to be happy together for a moment, but it couldn't be. Reluctantly, Remus let go of Andromeda before she could let go of him. The strong winds of circumstance had blown them closely together, but once the winds fell they would drift apart and drop to the hard, unforgiving ground as separate entities.

It was inevitable. How could he presume to step into her husband's shoes, or act as if her beloved daughter had been a mere parenthesis in his life, hardly more than a child-bearing womb? How could he, especially now that his stigma was as far from being removed as it had been before?

'Let's go home then.' He tore his eyes from her and started for the lifts. She joined him silently.

The first downward lift stopping at Level Four contained the Hit Wizard Gumboil. His face lit up when Andromeda stepped inside. 'Mrth Tonkth! Allow me to I congratulate you. I hear you've found your grandthon back.'

'Why, thank you, Mr. Gumboil,' she replied with a smile and a nod of her head. 'Do you know you helped me greatly by allowing me a look inside the Auror cubicles?'

'Alwayth at your thervithe, lady!' said the Hit Wizard enthusiastically, while the lift continued its descent to the Atrium. 'No doubt we'll meet again at Auror Green'th trial; I'll be acting ath a witneth for the prothecution. That'll teach her not to thend me after innothent ladieth. Do you know, by the way, that thomeone left a nathty jinkth at her apartment? When they took her back to allow her to pack a few thingth, Green lotht all her hair the moment the thtepped inthide the door. And I mean, _all _her hair.'

'It could have been worse,' Andromeda said placidly. 'She could have lost her teeth, too. And I'm sure the hair will grow back before she's served her time in Azkaban.'

Remus couldn't find it in him to fault her for this relatively moderate revenge. He'd found out enough about the Blacks to realise it _could _have been Green's teeth.

Gumboil's face dissolved in a silly grin. 'If you thay tho, lady.'

Was he coming on to her? Remus wasn't sorry in the least when Gumboil exited the lift at Level Six with a couple of airplane memos in his wake.

Andromeda smiled, but before the lift reached the Atrium, her expression became sober again. 'We need to talk, Remus,' she said while they walked towards the fireplaces lining the vast hall of the Ministry.

He didn't particularly want to hear in so many words there could be nothing between them, but once they'd been to the Burrow to take Teddy home and were back at the Mudhole, there was no escape. Nervously, he followed Andromeda to the living room, where she put Teddy in his playpen and gave him one of his toys before sitting down in a corner of the sofa. When Remus remained standing, nervous, not knowing whether to sit down in the opposite corner or on the other side of the coffee table, she shook her head.

'Are you planning to bolt in case I say something you won't like?' He detected a note of irony in her voice.

'Do you know something about me that I don't?' he retorted. When she chuckled, he opted for the corner of the sofa, his hands clammy with sweat.

Andromeda studied her fingers. 'It's... difficult for me to ask this, but after all these suggestions that there's something between us, that we're together even, the matter has to be addressed.' She looked up and met his gaze. 'Remus, would you want it to be true - that there's something between us?'

His first impulse was to deny, his second to try and penetrate her mind, searching for clues that would tell him what was inside it. But the first would be cowardly and the second, rude. He decided to be honest. 'I would,' he said, feeling his cheeks grow hot.

'You would,' she repeated, her voice going up a little.

His heart beat like a sledgehammer. 'It's just... I...' Better have it over and done with. He took the jump. 'Andromeda, I love you. I know it's... bad timing, to say the least... but that's how it is.'

She bit her lip. 'I'm seven years your senior. Almost a hag.'

'Andromeda,' Remus heard himself say, 'You said you wanted a serious talk, but this is rubbish. I...' He took a deep breath. 'I fell in love with you the way you are, and I don't care abut your age, or anything else you might bring up against yourself. If you're going to tell me no, please be honest about it. You're still grieving for your husband and I was married to the daughter you lost. If I remembered Dora I'd be in deepest mourning, too, and this would never have happened. But you do remember her, and you know she deserves so much better than to be forgotten, and Ted deserves better than to be replaced - especially by me - and you can't love me that way.'

He smiled shakily. 'See? Now I've saved you the trouble to tell me.' _You're rambling._ But he thought he'd covered the gist of it.

She blinked furiously. 'You're forgetting something, Remus. Let me go on in the same vein, just for a moment. You deserve better than losing your memory and feeling guilty for where this allows your emotions to run. And my daughter deserves better than to be replaced by her own mother, even though she willingly left a nursing infant to follow her husband into battle.'

'Please,' Remus began, horrified at the turn this was taking.

She shook her head. 'Let me speak, or I'll suffocate in the words I have to swallow. My daughter went to fight for the future of her child, believing she could make a difference. But nothing I've heard tells me she _did_. I fail to see why on earth a nursing mother has to make a last stand if she's got other options There's courage in staying at home, too. And Britain's not the only place on earth; there are plenty of countries. There's honour in retreating at the right moment, as long as you keep the defiance in your heart alive. Yes, I know Dora felt she had to fight, but why didn't she at least morph her face, to avoid being recognised by my murderous sister?'

Andromeda's voice became rough. 'No, don't interrupt me. Those are harsh things to say, but I had to say them. I couldn't keep them to myself anymore. My love for Dora hasn't grown any less since she died. But I have the right to be furious at her - and I am. Just so you know. Wonderful thoughts, aren't they? What a nice person I am, for thinking them! Do you still think it's a good idea to love me?'

Her eyes were challenging him to fight her words, to stand up against her, while all he wanted to do was surrender. Remus swallowed. Dora had every right to make the choice she did, but... you have just as much right to be furious at her. I think... I think I'd love you less if you weren't.'

Again she shook her head, but this time it seemed a helpless gesture, as if she tried to shake something off that kept haunting her.

'Andromeda.' His voice almost broke. 'I'm so sorry I am the one who survived, I'm so terribly -'

'Don't you dare!' she interrupted him, squeezing her eyes shut, scrunching up her face. 'Don't you dare to be sorry, or I'll think it's your guilt complex you're really in love with, not me.' Her mouth twitched. 'You're right, you know. I can't love you back that way, Remus. It's impossible.'

His throat constricted.

'But the real trouble,' Andromeda went on, 'the trouble you can't save me from, is that I do.'

He could only stare at her, as if she'd cast a Petrificus on him, and while he did, he saw the tears she had tried to keep back run down her cheeks.

'I do,' Andromeda repeated in a very small voice. 'I never wanted it. I didn't ask for it. But wrong though it may be, I do.' She opened her eyes, and gazing into them, he knew it was true.

The corners of the sofa vanished; somehow they had both moved to the centre, and Remus kissed her wet cheeks, tear by tear, and the corners of her mouth. 'You need time, my love,' he whispered. 'It may be wrong now, but one day... you just need time. And I'll wait.'

'Gaga!' Teddy suddenly declared from his playpen, and they burst into uncontrollable laughter.

_To Be Concluded with an Epilogue_

**A/N2**: But don't wait for it to tell me if you liked the story!


	25. Chapter 25

**Epilogue**

_**Author's warning**__: the end is fluffy and silly. Readers who want to escape the worst of it are advised to stop reading after the word "weather". _

A week later, on the night of the full moon, Andromeda locked Remus inside the cellar room again, this time with a mattress and a blanket. If she doubted that he would remain human, she did not tell him so, and he did not voice any certainty.

She went to her back garden to watch the moon rise. Once it was in the sky, gleaming like a huge pearl, she returned to the cellar to ask Remus if he had transformed. He had not.

They waited an hour, in which Andromeda secured the door to the nursery with three different protection spells. Then she let Remus out of the cellar, and they went to the garden. After a brief hesitation on the threshold of the back door he stepped into the moonlight to let its mild glow wash over him, turning up his face as in worship. Only once before, when his son was born, had she seen him so happy - but this time he would remember it.

They walked to the edge of the pond and gazed at the milky reflection of the moon in its still waters. Sitting down on the lawn, they enjoyed the light and the sounds of the summer night and each other's company, and Remus told her that one day he'd go for a walk under the full moon where people could see him, to claim his proper place in the Wizarding World. And if by doing so he would scare some werewolf-haters who had sent Howlers and letters to the Prophet, so much the better. They laughed, and because there's nothing quite like kissing in the moonlight at the edge of the water, they kissed, too.

After this night, Remus's dreams about the Forest, the dreams in which he was dead and happy, ceased altogether. He abandoned his plans to visit Dolohov in Azkaban to ask him what curse he had used to kill the werewolf. It didn't matter anymore: Dolohov was his past, not his future; he was alive, the wolf was dead. Perhaps one day the Wizarding World would recognise him for what he knew himself to be - for what he had, in fact, always been: not a Dark Creature but a human being.

Or maybe not. But even if he would remain a werewolf in the eyes of others, whether he transformed or not, so be it. He would never let it eat him again. Instead, he realised now to what end he had been called back, what unfinished business it was that awaited him, and what wrongs he had to redress: not his own, but those of his world. He would stand up for the right of werewolves to be human. He had great allies in Harry and his friends, he had a woman who believed in him and a son to make proud, he had children like Gery to help and support.

When Hermione finally got around to looking up the English translation of _gral_ and discovered that it was simply the German version of the Grail, she was greatly puzzled. The Grail was supposed to be a cup, not a stone, and the thought that it could be both at the same time offended her sense of logic. Remus on the other hand, was rather taken with the idea that it was the grail that had made him a new man, as it turned his fight for werewolf rights into a true quest. He decided to interpret the Grail as a symbol for a goblet containing the Wolfsbane Potion. His first move would be a campaign to provide every werewolf in Britain who wanted it, with the potion.

If there was one thing Remus regretted about his second life, it was that his amnesia appeared to be permanent. There was nothing to be done about it. Fortunately, so far his new life had been full of interesting material to create new memories from.

On the day Teddy turned five months old, the Auror, Niobe Green, was sentenced to twenty years in Azkaban. Normally, her use of the Imperius Curse would have led to a life sentence, but taking her personal background into consideration, the Wizengamot considered this too harsh. Andromeda did not agree, but this was mainly because of the incident with the Wolfsbane Potion, which only Remus and she (and Harry and his friends, but they had it from hearsay) knew about.

Shortly after this, Remus finally received the first instalment of Dora's war pension, together with the promise that his own would follow soon after. Meanwhile, the abolition of the Umbridge anti-werewolf legislation was firmly put on the agenda of the new Shacklebolt government. The Minister's own proposal to remove Gower from his position at the Werewolf Support Service and replace him with Remus Lupin once the Umbridge laws were repelled, met with a favourable response.

On Remus's thirty-ninth birthday, Andromeda decided she was ready at last to take the next step in their relationship and asked him to marry her. Remus immediately said 'yes'. The wedding announcement in the Daily Prophet gave occasion to a Howler or two, but thanks to an ingenious disinformation campaign the date turned out to be wrong. The wedding day itself wasn't marred by anything, not even by the weather.

There were two guests Andromeda couldn't remember inviting, but as she admitted to Remus afterwards, it could have been worse. They could have brought Lucius. Remus agreed - but then, he'd never have sent the invitation to Malfoy Manor if he had believed for a second that Lucius would deign to come.

Some time later, Andromeda discovered that the infertility curse Bellatrix had cast on her after Dora's birth had apparently expired with the caster. When her and Remus's daughter managed to be born - a few weeks early - on the first of January of the year 2000, they agreed that the start of the new millennium was an excellent time to declare the war over at last.

If Draco Malfoy ever offered to werecub-sit little Irene Dora Lupin, it falls outside the scope of this story, though it is by no means impossible. But whether he did so or not, all was as well as could be.

&&&&&&

**footnote:** In the German medieval tradition, the Grail _is_ a stone. Interpreters have even made a link with the Philosopher's Stone, but that remains very speculative.

**A/N:** And this, as you'll understand, is the end, dear readers. If you put me on your favourites or author alert list, and you haven't reviewed yet, this is your last chance to do so... thank you.


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